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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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. rash — a series
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chest — of your body
  5. club — for dancing
  6. last — final
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. last — finally
  10. lean — to bend
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chest — of your body
  15. degree — an amount
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. rash — hasty
  18. chest — a box
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. last — to go on
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — a group
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — to eat

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