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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mine — for digging
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. net — for catching
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. net — after costs
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. fine — all right
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. shower — to wash
  20. net — in sport
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. race — humankind

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