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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hand — in cards
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. hand — help
  14. scale — in music
  15. perch — the fish
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bat — in an idiom

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