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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. season — in sport
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bat — the animal
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. spring — the season
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spring — of water
  14. tear — from crying
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. spring — a coil
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. season — of the year
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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