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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: spell · object · fall · bat · lash · chip · kid · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. spell — magic
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. chip — for betting
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — letters
  10. perch — the fish
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. fall — the season
  14. bat — the animal
  15. kid — to tease
  16. fall — to drop
  17. object — an aim
  18. fall — to drop
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chip — to eat
  24. kid — child

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