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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bark — to shout
  3. kid — to tease
  4. game — a match
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. perch — the fish
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. capital — a city
  10. rash — a series
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. kid — child
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. capital — money
  23. rest — a break
  24. lash — an eyelash

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