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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. scale — size or range
  6. drill — the tool
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. drill — a practice
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. degree — from a university
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. degree — an amount
  16. suit — to fit
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. drill — army training
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. degree — temperature
  22. scale — in music
  23. suit — in cards
  24. suit — clothes

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