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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. club — for dancing
  3. degree — from a university
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. degree — an amount
  6. march — the month
  7. season — of the year
  8. pop — soda
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pop — music
  11. march — music
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. row — to paddle
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. march — the month
  16. pop — to visit
  17. row — a line
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. club — a group
  21. dip — to sink
  22. club — for golf
  23. season — in sport
  24. lash — a whip stroke

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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