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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. pound — a weight
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. degree — from a university
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. game — a match
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. deal — to handle
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rest — what's left

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