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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: firm · kid · lean · degree · wind · club

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. kid — child
  3. club — for dancing
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lean — thin
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. firm — a company
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lean — to bend
  10. kid — to tease
  11. degree — from a university
  12. club — for golf
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. degree — temperature
  15. club — a group
  16. firm — steady
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. 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