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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: kick · rest · wind · degree · net · straw · board · lean

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. net — in sport
  3. lean — thin
  4. degree — temperature
  5. rest — what's left
  6. board — to get on
  7. degree — from a university
  8. board — a committee
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rest — what's left
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. net — after costs
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. degree — an amount
  21. lean — to bend
  22. net — for catching
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kick — in football

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