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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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Word bank
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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: lie · file · chest · wind · stem · wound · bass · degree

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chest — a box
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. file — a document
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bass — the fish
  15. lie — to recline
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stem — to come from
  20. wound — an injury
  21. degree — an amount
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bass — low music
  24. lie — an untruth

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