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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. race — humankind
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pound — a weight
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. race — the arms race
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. race — a contest
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. degree — temperature
  24. snap — to click

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