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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. land — to come down
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. content — the amount
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. swing — in golf
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. swing — to play on
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. swing — music
  14. degree — an amount
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cap — of ice
  17. land — ground
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cap — a hat
  20. land — a country
  21. content — happy
  22. cap — a lid
  23. degree — temperature
  24. lash — to lash out

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