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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 124 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. kid — to tease
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wind — moving air
  9. face — to confront
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wind — moving air
  12. last — to go on
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. kid — child
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. last — finally
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. last — final
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wave — of the sea

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