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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. wake — a trail
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. degree — from a university
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. craft — boats
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cold — not warm
  12. craft — a skill
  13. degree — temperature
  14. dip — to sink
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. safe — out of danger

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