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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. firm — steady
  6. degree — temperature
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lie — to recline
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. firm — a company
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. swing — in golf
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. degree — an amount
  19. snap — to click
  20. lean — to bend
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. lean — thin
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. degree — from a university

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