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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 116 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: rush · wake · degree · staff · lash · hide · current · bore

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. current — electric
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. staff — employees
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. staff — employees
  12. bore — to tire
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. staff — a stick
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bore — to drill
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wake — a trail

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