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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. spring — of water
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. rest — a break
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. chair — a leader
  10. spring — the season
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. mate — to breed
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. craft — a skill
  16. rest — what's left
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. craft — boats
  21. rest — what's left
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chair — a professorship

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