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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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468
Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. pit — a hole
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. foot — a measure
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. spring — of water
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spring — the season
  12. game — wild animals
  13. degree — an amount
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. degree — from a university
  16. ball — a great time
  17. spring — a coil
  18. pit — in a race
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. ball — a dance
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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