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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. charge — electricity
  5. tear — to rip
  6. charge — a price
  7. tear — from crying
  8. spring — a coil
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. kick — in football
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. charge — in control
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. spring — of water
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. ball — a great time
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. degree — an amount
  24. ball — a dance

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