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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. file — a document
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. file — a tool
  7. mate — a partner
  8. file — a line of people
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. mate — a friend
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. scale — size or range
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. scale — in music
  18. mate — to breed
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. kick — in football
  22. sharp — clever
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. hide — to keep secret

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