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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. degree — an amount
  3. last — final
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. degree — temperature
  9. clip — for paper
  10. degree — from a university
  11. row — to paddle
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. kick — in football
  18. last — finally
  19. clip — a video
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. lash — an eyelash

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