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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. degree — temperature
  6. season — of the year
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rest — what's left
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rest — what's left
  11. club — for golf
  12. rest — a break
  13. club — a group
  14. mark — a grade
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. clip — for paper
  19. degree — an amount
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. club — for dancing
  22. squash — the sport
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. mark — a trace

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