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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. cue — a hint
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. object — to protest
  6. pop — soda
  7. object — a thing
  8. pop — music
  9. object — an aim
  10. wound — an injury
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hand — help
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cue — for pool
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cue — a signal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. hand — in cards

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