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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cold — not warm
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. mine — for digging
  11. firm — a company
  12. perch — the fish
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cold — an illness
  15. spring — of water
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. firm — decided
  18. spring — the season
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. firm — steady
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. arm — part of the body

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