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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 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 · squash · cap

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

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

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