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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. last — to go on
  5. tear — from crying
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. scale — size or range
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. branch — a division
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mine — for digging
  22. scale — in music
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. branch — of a bank

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