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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 120 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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. prune — to trim
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. degree — from a university
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. game — wild animals
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. game — a match
  18. leaves — of a tree

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