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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wind — moving air
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. degree — temperature
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. snap — to click
  18. content — the amount
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kick — in football
  23. content — happy
  24. degree — from a university

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