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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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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: degree · scale · lash · spring · trunk · wind · kick · stick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spring — of water
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. degree — from a university
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wind — moving air
  16. scale — in music
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. spring — the season
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. scale — size or range
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. spring — a coil

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