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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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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: wind · lash · chest · patient · degree · safe

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. degree — from a university
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chest — a box
  16. degree — an amount
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. safe — out of danger

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