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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. degree — an amount
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. chip — to eat
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pound — a weight
  8. scale — size or range
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — for betting
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rash — hasty
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. scale — in music

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