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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. swing — in golf
  3. degree — from a university
  4. firm — decided
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cue — a signal
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. clip — for paper
  11. firm — a company
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. degree — temperature
  17. firm — steady
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cue — a hint
  20. clip — a video
  21. degree — an amount
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bear — the animal
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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