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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. perch — the fish
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rash — hasty
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. net — in sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. kid — child
  9. net — for catching
  10. fall — the season
  11. game — a match
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. net — after costs
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. rash — a series

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