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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 120 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: bear · lash · mouse · stick · wound · chest · clip · degree

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. degree — from a university
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — an amount
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. chest — a box
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. clip — for paper

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