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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. last — to go on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. degree — an amount
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. degree — temperature
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. sharp — clever
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final

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