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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rash — a series
  5. bulb — for light
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. row — to paddle
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. chest — a box
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. degree — an amount
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. row — a line

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