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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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 — an eyelash
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — for paper
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. sharp — clever
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. clip — a video
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — shares
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bat — the animal
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. stock — goods
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. perch — for a bird
  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