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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hand — in cards
  6. perch — the fish
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bass — low music
  12. hand — help
  13. wound — an injury
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. band — a ring
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. bass — the fish
  21. band — a music group
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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