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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 120 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. degree — an amount
  11. clip — a video
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fall — the season
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. fall — to drop

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