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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cue — a hint
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. last — to go on
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cue — for pool
  12. last — final
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. last — finally
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bat — the animal
  17. spell — magic
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cue — a signal
  20. spell — letters
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wind — to turn a key

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