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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · scale · kid · bear · lash · saw

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. kid — to tease
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bear — the animal
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bear — the animal
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. scale — in music
  17. saw — the tool
  18. scale — size or range

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