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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. perch — the fish
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cell — in biology
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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