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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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. bore — to drill
  5. sharp — clever
  6. scale — size or range
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. net — for catching
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cold — an illness
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. perch — the fish
  14. scale — in music
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. net — after costs
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cold — not warm
  20. file — a document
  21. bore — to tire
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. net — in sport
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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