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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. game — a match
  4. spell — a short time
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cap — a hat
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. spell — letters
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. spell — magic
  17. cap — of ice
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. swing — music
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. swing — in golf
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bulb — for light

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