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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 120 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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bat — the animal
  4. mate — to breed
  5. net — after costs
  6. kid — child
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. perch — the fish
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mate — a friend
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — in sport

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