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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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Word bank
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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: mug · snap · tear · net · march · mouse · perch · file

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a cup
  3. tear — from crying
  4. file — a tool
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. file — a document
  11. net — in sport
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. march — the month
  14. mug — a face
  15. net — for catching
  16. snap — to click
  17. march — music
  18. file — a line of people
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. net — after costs
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. perch — the fish
  24. march — the month

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