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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: spring · lash · wound · racket · wind · firm · degree · kid

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. spring — the season
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. firm — a company
  8. kid — child
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — from a university
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kid — to tease
  14. degree — temperature
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spring — of water
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — decided
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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