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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: wave · plane · march · kid · court · prune · lash · perch

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. court — of law
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. march — music
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. kid — to tease
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. march — the month
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. perch — the fish
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. court — of a king
  21. march — the month
  22. plane — a tool
  23. court — for sport
  24. perch — for a bird

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