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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 116 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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bear — the animal
  4. land — ground
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wound — an injury
  8. scale — in music
  9. kid — child
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. land — to come down
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. perch — the fish
  16. kid — to tease
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bass — low music
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. land — a country
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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