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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 116 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. race — humankind
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. swing — music
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. scale — in music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. swing — to play on
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. race — a contest
  22. degree — temperature
  23. race — the arms race
  24. scale — size or range

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