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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: cabinet · mine · fall · degree · craft · lash · trunk · wind

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. fall — the season
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. wind — moving air
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. craft — boats
  20. degree — temperature
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. degree — an amount
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. lash — to lash out

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