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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chest — a box
  3. swing — to play on
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. net — after costs
  12. lie — to recline
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. tube — the underground
  16. net — for catching
  17. swing — in golf
  18. fine — all right
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. tube — a container
  22. net — in sport
  23. fine — high quality
  24. swing — music

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