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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. hand — help
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. spring — a coil
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. foot — a measure
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. hand — in cards
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. spring — of water
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spring — the season
  21. perch — the fish
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. cold — an illness
  24. date — the fruit

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