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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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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. degree — temperature
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. spring — of water
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. season — of the year
  13. file — a line of people
  14. degree — from a university
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. spring — the season
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. degree — an amount
  20. season — in sport
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. file — a tool
  23. spring — a coil
  24. file — a document

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