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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 120 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. land — a country
  3. perch — the fish
  4. land — ground
  5. cell — a phone
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. cell — in biology
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. last — final
  17. land — to come down
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cell — in a prison

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