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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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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: lash · racket · degree · wave · tear · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. degree — from a university
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — to tease
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. tear — from crying
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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