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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: cell · race · straw · lash · degree · pop · bat · bay

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pop — soda
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. race — a contest
  10. bat — the animal
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. degree — from a university
  14. race — humankind
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. degree — temperature
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. pop — music

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