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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 · fall · lash · rule · wake · cell · wind · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pop — soda
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rule — a law
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. fall — the season
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cell — a phone
  24. degree — temperature

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