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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ground — the earth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. rule — government
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. roll — a cake
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rule — a law
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. ground — a position
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. ground — crushed

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