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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. land — ground
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. land — a country
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. land — to come down
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. shower — to wash
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. game — a match
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. perch — the fish
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. drill — the tool
  22. game — wild animals
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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