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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. band — a music group
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. degree — an amount
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bank — of a river
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. bank — for money
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. saw — the tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. saw — the tool

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