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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bore — to tire
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mate — a partner
  8. perch — the fish
  9. sharp — clever
  10. stock — goods
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mate — to breed
  13. row — to paddle
  14. stock — shares
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. row — a line
  22. bore — to drill
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. straw — dry grass

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