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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. drill — the tool
  8. toast — bread
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bat — the animal
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. net — after costs
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. degree — temperature
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. drill — army training
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bat — for baseball

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