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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. fine — high quality
  4. season — of the year
  5. row — to paddle
  6. chest — a box
  7. row — a line
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fine — all right
  10. hand — help
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. snap — to click
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chest — of your body
  18. degree — an amount
  19. chest — of your body
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  24. hand — in cards

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