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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 124 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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. swing — music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cell — a phone
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. shower — to wash
  8. degree — from a university
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. cap — a lid
  16. shower — rain
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cap — of ice
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cell — in biology
  22. swing — in golf
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. swing — to play on

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