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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. march — the month
  9. bass — low music
  10. degree — from a university
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. spring — the season
  13. march — the month
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. march — music
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bass — the fish
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rock — music

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