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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bulb — for light
  4. track — a path
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. shower — to wash
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. degree — from a university
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. shower — rain
  12. track — a song
  13. degree — temperature
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bear — the animal
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rest — a break
  24. bulb — of a plant

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