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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 124 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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. content — the amount
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — a stone
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fine — all right
  11. foot — a measure
  12. clip — a video
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. fall — to drop
  17. content — happy
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fall — the season
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fall — to drop
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fine — a penalty

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