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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. bank — for money
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — a law
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bank — of a river
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bat — the animal
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bank — for money
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. degree — an amount
  24. tube — the underground

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