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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. degree — temperature
  6. spell — magic
  7. pitch — completely
  8. race — the arms race
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cell — in biology
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cell — a phone
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. degree — from a university
  15. race — a contest
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. deal — to handle
  18. perch — the fish
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. spell — letters
  21. race — humankind
  22. spell — a short time
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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