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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. degree — temperature
  3. drill — the tool
  4. craft — a skill
  5. last — finally
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. pop — soda
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. last — to go on
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. pop — to visit
  15. march — the month
  16. last — final
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. drill — army training
  21. degree — from a university
  22. drill — a practice
  23. march — music
  24. pop — music

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