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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. fall — to drop
  4. land — ground
  5. perch — the fish
  6. race — the arms race
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. band — a music group
  10. land — to come down
  11. fall — to drop
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. band — a ring
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fall — the season
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. land — a country
  24. lean — thin

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