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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hand — help
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. march — the month
  8. hand — in cards
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. march — the month
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. march — music
  16. perch — the fish
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. field — for sport

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