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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 116 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bank — for money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stem — to come from
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. bass — low music
  8. bank — for money
  9. rest — a break
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. rest — what's left
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rest — what's left
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bank — of a river
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wind — moving air

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