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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bulb · degree · kick · race · snap · lash · lean · pitch

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. race — humankind
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. degree — from a university
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. race — a contest
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kick — in football
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pitch — completely
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. degree — temperature
  21. snap — to click
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. race — the arms race
  24. lean — thin

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