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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: can · perch · row · game · mate · cold · lash · sharp

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. game — wild animals
  4. mate — a partner
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. row — to paddle
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. can — to be able to
  11. perch — the fish
  12. cold — an illness
  13. row — a line
  14. game — a match
  15. cold — not warm
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mate — to breed
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — a tin
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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