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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. track — a song
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. capital — a city
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. track — a path
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. track — to keep track
  23. capital — money
  24. land — a country

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