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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. face — to confront
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wound — an injury
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. degree — temperature
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a great time
  10. club — for golf
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. club — a group
  16. season — of the year
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. face — to point toward
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. club — for dancing
  23. season — in sport
  24. face — part of the head

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