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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rush — hurry
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. snap — to click
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rash — a series

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