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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: pit · row · perch · date · bulb · kid · temple · lash

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bulb — for light
  7. kid — to tease
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. row — a line
  12. pit — in a race
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. perch — the fish
  19. row — to paddle
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bulb — for light
  23. date — the fruit
  24. kid — child

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