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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 120 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. degree — an amount
  3. staff — employees
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. row — a line
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. staff — employees
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bound — tied together
  15. staff — a stick
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bound — certain
  19. row — to paddle
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bound — obliged
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bear — to put up with

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