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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. swing — to play on
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — music
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. wound — an injury
  9. net — for catching
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. court — for sport
  12. swing — music
  13. court — of law
  14. perch — the fish
  15. wound — an injury
  16. swing — in golf
  17. net — after costs
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rock — a stone
  20. snap — to click
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. court — of a king
  23. net — in sport
  24. lash — to lash out

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