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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 124 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 ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pop — soda
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. kid — child
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. pop — to visit
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pop — music
  24. perch — the fish

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