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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: scale · perch · stick · deal · calf · lash · cold · file

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. cold — an illness
  8. scale — size or range
  9. file — a tool
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. file — a line of people
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. deal — to handle
  23. file — a document
  24. cold — not warm

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