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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. file — a document
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. roll — a cake
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. roll — a list
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. snap — to click
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. scale — size or range
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rush — hurry
  14. degree — from a university
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. file — a tool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. file — a line of people
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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