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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. swing — to play on
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. club — for dancing
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. chest — of your body
  12. club — for golf
  13. chest — a box
  14. club — a group
  15. wake — a trail
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. swing — music

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