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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. march — the month
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. row — a line
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. march — music
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. mark — a grade
  11. row — to paddle
  12. land — to come down
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. stock — goods
  17. mark — a trace
  18. perch — the fish
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. march — the month

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