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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 116 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: mate · lash · present · mug · clip · cold · calf · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. cold — an illness
  4. mug — to rob
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. clip — for paper
  7. present — there
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mug — a face
  10. present — the time now
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mug — a cup
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. clip — a video
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. present — a gift
  19. mate — a partner
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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