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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bear — the animal
  7. degree — from a university
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. net — in sport
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. cell — in biology
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. dip — to sink
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bear — the animal

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