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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. degree — an amount
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. chest — of your body
  10. degree — from a university
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. degree — temperature
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. season — of the year
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. chest — a box
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. jam — in traffic

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