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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. degree — from a university
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. craft — boats
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. degree — an amount
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. snap — to click
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. ground — the earth
  17. craft — a skill
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. ground — a position
  24. degree — temperature

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