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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 120 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: tear · snap · perch · bowl · cap · scale · squash · sharp

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. scale — in music
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. squash — the sport
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. scale — size or range
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cap — of ice
  14. tear — from crying
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. perch — the fish
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. cap — a hat
  23. squash — to crush
  24. tear — to rip

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