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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. last — finally
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wind — moving air
  9. squash — the sport
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rush — hurry
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. last — to go on
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. rash — a series
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. last — final

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