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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: march · lash · hide · degree · cabinet · perch · tear · snap

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. tear — to rip
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. degree — an amount
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — music
  15. perch — the fish
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. tear — from crying
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. march — the month
  23. snap — to click
  24. tear — from crying

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