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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. land — to come down
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. land — a country
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pit — a hole
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. land — ground
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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