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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · degree · season · row · date · tube · ground · lash

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ground — a position
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. degree — an amount
  8. row — a line
  9. hand — help
  10. tube — a container
  11. ground — crushed
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. tube — the underground
  14. ground — the earth
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — the fruit
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. degree — from a university
  20. season — in sport
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. row — to paddle
  24. season — of the year

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