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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bass — the fish
  4. squash — the sport
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. degree — temperature
  7. hand — help
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. hand — in cards
  10. last — finally
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bass — low music
  14. degree — an amount
  15. squash — to crush
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. degree — from a university
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. last — final
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. last — to go on
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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