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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. court — of law
  3. degree — temperature
  4. track — to keep track
  5. degree — from a university
  6. press — to push
  7. current — electric
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. current — happening now
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. degree — an amount
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. track — a path
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. track — a song
  18. court — for sport
  19. press — newspapers
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. court — of a king
  22. current — of water
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. cold — not warm

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