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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · club · wave · snap · kick · perch · last · plane

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. last — to go on
  3. club — for dancing
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — in football
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. club — for golf
  12. cap — of ice
  13. plane — a tool
  14. last — final
  15. cap — a hat
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. last — finally
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. cap — a lid
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. club — a group
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com