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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: net · degree · lash · race · perch · clip · bay · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. degree — from a university
  4. net — for catching
  5. race — humankind
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. net — in sport
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. season — in sport
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. net — after costs
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. clip — a video
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. clip — to cut
  19. race — a contest
  20. season — of the year
  21. degree — an amount
  22. race — the arms race
  23. clip — for paper
  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