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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. pit — in a race
  3. degree — an amount
  4. root — of a word
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. root — the cause
  7. pit — a hole
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. degree — temperature
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. degree — from a university
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. root — of a plant
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a dance
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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