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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. field — farmland
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. saw — the tool
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pitch — completely
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. field — a subject
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — for sport
  24. saw — the tool

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