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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wound — an injury
  5. object — to protest
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. club — a group
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. club — for golf
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. club — for dancing
  14. stand — to bear
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. object — an aim
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. stand — for spectators

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