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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. firm — decided
  5. kid — to tease
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. saw — the tool
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. clip — for paper
  12. kid — child
  13. firm — a company
  14. rest — what's left
  15. clip — a video
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. firm — steady
  20. saw — the tool
  21. sharp — clever
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. clip — to cut
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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