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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 116 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bass — the fish
  5. track — a song
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bass — low music
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rest — what's left
  10. capital — money
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. track — a path
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rest — what's left
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. game — wild animals
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. capital — a city
  23. rest — a break
  24. game — a match

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