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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. court — of law
  4. cap — of ice
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. court — of a king
  7. ground — a position
  8. cap — a hat
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. spring — the season
  13. ground — the earth
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. court — for sport
  16. cap — a lid
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. ground — crushed
  20. spring — of water
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. spring — a coil

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