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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. suit — to fit
  4. lean — thin
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. suit — in cards
  7. suit — clothes
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. hand — help
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. lean — to bend
  14. hand — in cards
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. degree — temperature
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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