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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. rest — what's left
  3. prune — to trim
  4. court — of law
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rest — a break
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. court — for sport
  9. rest — what's left
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. degree — temperature
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rock — music
  23. court — of a king
  24. rock — a stone

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