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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rest — what's left
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bass — low music
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. degree — an amount
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. rest — a break
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. can — a tin
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. degree — temperature
  16. can — to be able to
  17. bass — the fish
  18. cell — in biology
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cell — a phone
  22. can — a tin
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. hand — in cards

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