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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. last — finally
  8. degree — an amount
  9. drill — a practice
  10. race — humankind
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. last — to go on
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. drill — the tool
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. last — final
  20. bulb — for light
  21. race — the arms race
  22. drill — army training
  23. rest — what's left
  24. race — a contest

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