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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. mate — a friend
  5. perch — the fish
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. saw — the tool
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. foot — a measure
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bass — low music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. saw — the tool
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bass — the fish
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. foot — the bottom

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