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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. pitch — completely
  4. spring — of water
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. land — a country
  7. land — to come down
  8. march — the month
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — temperature
  13. face — to confront
  14. spring — a coil
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. land — ground
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. march — music
  20. face — part of the head
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. spring — the season
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pitch — a sports field

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