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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: pound · jam · arm · perch · sharp · cold · lash · firm

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. firm — steady
  4. cold — an illness
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. firm — decided
  13. perch — the fish
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pound — a weight
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. firm — a company
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. sharp — with an edge

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