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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 116 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. key — the most important part
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pit — in a race
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cell — in biology
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. key — in music
  14. degree — temperature
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. degree — an amount
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pit — a hole
  20. squash — to crush
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. wind — moving air
  24. squash — the vegetable

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