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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cold — not warm
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bank — of a river
  6. field — a subject
  7. spell — letters
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. field — for sport
  10. bank — for money
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. degree — temperature
  20. field — farmland
  21. spell — magic
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. bank — for money

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