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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. swing — in golf
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. swing — to play on
  13. stem — to come from
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pitch — completely
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. swing — music
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wax — to grow

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