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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. last — finally
  4. degree — temperature
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. last — final
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. face — to point toward
  9. scale — size or range
  10. last — to go on
  11. degree — an amount
  12. scale — in music
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. face — to confront
  16. club — for dancing
  17. rush — hurry
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. face — part of the head
  20. degree — from a university
  21. club — a group
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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