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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. degree — temperature
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bank — of a river
  7. spring — the season
  8. bank — for money
  9. spring — a coil
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — an illness
  12. root — the cause
  13. degree — an amount
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. spring — of water
  16. perch — the fish
  17. root — of a word
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bank — for money
  22. root — of a plant
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cold — not warm

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