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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. degree — an amount
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. degree — temperature
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. kick — in football
  16. degree — from a university
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. perch — the fish
  19. kid — child
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stem — to come from
  24. saw — the tool

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