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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. degree — from a university
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. kid — child
  5. bulb — for light
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cell — a phone
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. degree — an amount
  13. kid — to tease
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — in a road
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bulb — for light
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. kick — in football

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