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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — temperature
  3. drill — a practice
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. file — a line of people
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. drill — the tool
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — a grade
  15. file — a document
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. squash — the sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. degree — an amount
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. drill — army training
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. file — a tool

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