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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 124 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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. sharp — clever
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. degree — an amount
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. hand — help
  13. degree — from a university
  14. field — a subject
  15. cap — a lid
  16. scale — size or range
  17. hand — in cards
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cap — a hat
  21. scale — in music
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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