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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: race · degree · lean · cold · wake · present · foot · lash

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. present — a gift
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. race — the arms race
  9. present — the time now
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to bend
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. race — humankind
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. race — a contest
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. wake — a trail
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. present — there

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