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

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fall — the season
  5. bulb — for light
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. kick — in football
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bulb — for light
  14. race — the arms race
  15. degree — an amount
  16. race — humankind
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. fall — to drop

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