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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: degree · rash · mine · racket · pitch · kid · wave · lash

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. kid — child
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pitch — completely
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. kid — to tease
  19. degree — temperature
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. rash — hasty
  24. degree — from a university

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