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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: cell · lie · perch · trunk · snap · cold · scale · deal

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cell — a phone
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cold — an illness
  11. scale — size or range
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. scale — in music
  15. perch — the fish
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. snap — to click
  18. cell — in biology
  19. deal — to handle
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lie — an untruth

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