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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bore — to drill
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bore — to tire
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. rash — hasty
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. perch — the fish
  18. date — the fruit
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rash — on the skin

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