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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: stick · cold · pop · arm · kid · lash · present · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. present — a gift
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pop — music
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pop — soda
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. kid — child
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. present — there
  21. perch — the fish
  22. present — the time now
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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