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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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Word bank
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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 · lash · hide · land · scale · coach · ground · wake

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. degree — an amount
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. scale — size or range
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. wake — a trail
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. ground — a position
  13. land — a country
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. scale — in music
  21. ground — the earth
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. ground — crushed
  24. degree — temperature

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