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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fork — in a road
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. current — happening now
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. mug — to rob
  9. degree — temperature
  10. file — a tool
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. current — of water
  14. file — a document
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. current — electric
  18. mug — a cup
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mug — a face
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. file — a line of people

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