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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. row — a line
  5. pop — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. perch — the fish
  8. shower — to wash
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pop — to visit
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. row — to paddle
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wound — an injury
  21. shower — rain
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. pop — soda
  24. patient — a sick person

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