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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. field — a subject
  6. bat — the animal
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. field — farmland
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. tube — the underground
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. field — for sport
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. tube — a container
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. perch — the fish

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