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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pitch — completely
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cap — a lid
  11. degree — from a university
  12. present — a gift
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cue — for pool
  17. mate — a friend
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mate — to breed
  21. present — the time now
  22. degree — temperature
  23. present — there
  24. mate — a partner

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