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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: lash · cold · charge · rash · perch · kick · court · kid

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. charge — a price
  4. kick — in football
  5. cold — not warm
  6. court — of a king
  7. charge — electricity
  8. charge — in control
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. rash — hasty
  11. court — of law
  12. kid — child
  13. court — for sport
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rash — a series
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kick — a thrill

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