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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rash — hasty
  3. content — the amount
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lean — to bend
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rash — a series
  13. march — music
  14. file — a tool
  15. prune — to trim
  16. file — a document
  17. lean — thin
  18. prune — to trim
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. file — a line of people
  21. march — the month
  22. content — happy
  23. perch — the fish
  24. march — the month

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