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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bore — to tire
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bore — to drill
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wound — an injury
  13. degree — an amount
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — thin
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — for digging
  22. degree — temperature
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lash — to lash out

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