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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. cap — of ice
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. cap — a lid
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cap — a hat
  8. degree — from a university
  9. court — of a king
  10. present — there
  11. degree — an amount
  12. current — of water
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. degree — temperature
  15. present — a gift
  16. current — electric
  17. current — happening now
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. wound — an injury
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. present — the time now
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. fork — in a road

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