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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. degree — temperature
  3. sharp — clever
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pitch — completely
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. degree — from a university
  10. club — a group
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. last — final
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. degree — an amount
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. last — to go on
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. last — finally
  24. mine — an explosive

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