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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. cold — not warm
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. saw — the tool
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rock — a stone
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. rock — music
  12. stem — to come from
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. cold — an illness
  18. ball — a dance
  19. saw — the tool
  20. perch — the fish
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. rock — to move gently

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