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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. hand — in cards
  4. clip — a video
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pop — music
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pop — soda
  12. field — a subject
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pop — to visit
  16. field — farmland
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. hand — help
  21. field — for sport
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. calf — of the leg

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