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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cap — a hat
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. field — for sport
  7. cap — of ice
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. degree — an amount
  10. field — farmland
  11. degree — from a university
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. field — a subject
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. prune — to trim
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. face — to confront
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cap — a lid
  24. kick — with a leg

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