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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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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: mouse · lash · fine · cold · perch · kick · wound · land

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. fine — high quality
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. land — ground
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. fine — all right
  11. land — a country
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. land — to come down
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. perch — the fish
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. kick — in football

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