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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: fall · object · degree · lash · stand · stem · wind · kid

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. degree — an amount
  6. object — a thing
  7. fall — the season
  8. stand — to bear
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. object — an aim
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. kid — child
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. object — to protest
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. kid — to tease

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