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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wound — an injury
  3. club — for golf
  4. game — a match
  5. club — a group
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. saw — the tool
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. club — for dancing
  22. degree — from a university
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. saw — past of 'see'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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