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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pass — a permit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bear — the animal
  12. scale — in music
  13. wake — a trail
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. scale — size or range
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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