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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lash · mouse · degree · club · march · tear

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. march — the month
  4. degree — from a university
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. club — for golf
  10. club — for dancing
  11. tear — from crying
  12. degree — an amount
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. club — a group
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. march — the month
  18. lash — a whip stroke

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