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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. cap — a lid
  4. squash — to crush
  5. present — there
  6. firm — steady
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cap — a hat
  9. squash — the sport
  10. degree — from a university
  11. firm — decided
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. wound — an injury
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cap — of ice
  16. wound — an injury
  17. degree — temperature
  18. present — the time now
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. present — a gift
  22. firm — a company
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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