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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: degree · wax · swing · chest · kick · hand · firm · lash

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. hand — in cards
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chest — a box
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. hand — help
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. firm — a company
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. swing — to play on
  12. firm — decided
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wax — to grow
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. degree — an amount
  17. swing — in golf
  18. kick — in football
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. firm — steady

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