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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. rest — a break
  4. degree — from a university
  5. snap — to click
  6. field — a subject
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. degree — temperature
  12. field — farmland
  13. rest — what's left
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. field — for sport
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rest — what's left

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