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

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pound — a weight
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bat — the animal
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. date — the fruit
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. deal — to handle
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cold — not warm
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bat — for baseball

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