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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 ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. fine — all right
  3. cold — not warm
  4. band — a music group
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. band — a ring
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a match
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. fine — high quality
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. net — after costs
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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