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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. degree — from a university
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. capital — money
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bore — to drill
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. capital — a city
  20. degree — an amount
  21. cold — not warm
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bat — in an idiom

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