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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 120 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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pitch — completely
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. march — the month
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. march — music
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. march — the month
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

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