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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. row — a line
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wound — an injury
  11. scale — size or range
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. court — of law
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. sharp — clever
  16. court — of a king
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. court — for sport
  21. row — to paddle
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. branch — a division
  24. sharp — exactly

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