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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 120 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 · wound · perch · snap · bat · stock · march · rule

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. stock — shares
  9. perch — the fish
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. march — the month
  22. wound — an injury
  23. snap — to click
  24. march — music

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