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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: cold · cap · stand · wake · club · lash · perch · object

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. object — to protest
  8. cap — a hat
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cap — of ice
  12. stand — to bear
  13. club — for dancing
  14. object — an aim
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wake — a trail
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — a group
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. lash — to lash out

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