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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bulb — for light
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pop — music
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. perch — the fish
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pop — soda
  15. ground — a position
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bulb — for light
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ground — crushed
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. perch — for a bird

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