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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. degree — from a university
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. degree — temperature
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bat — the animal
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. ball — a great time
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. degree — an amount
  22. chair — a leader
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wake — before a funeral

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