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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 · perch · lash · kick · calf · lie · swing · ground

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. cold — an illness
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cold — not warm
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. ground — a position
  16. perch — the fish
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. swing — music
  22. lie — to recline
  23. kick — in football
  24. perch — for a bird

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