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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: mouse · degree · roll · clip · kid · leaves · wound · lash

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. kid — child
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — an amount
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. clip — for paper
  7. degree — from a university
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. roll — a cake
  24. lash — an eyelash

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