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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. race — the arms race
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. race — humankind
  14. row — a line
  15. wake — a trail
  16. degree — an amount
  17. stem — to come from
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wind — moving air
  22. race — a contest
  23. row — to paddle
  24. date — the fruit

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