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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. degree — from a university
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. capital — a city
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bass — the fish
  16. degree — an amount
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. degree — temperature
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. capital — money
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. stand — to bear
  24. bass — low 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