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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 116 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: scale · degree · root · wind · lean · lash · cold · pound

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. root — of a word
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. lean — thin
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pound — a weight
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. degree — temperature
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a plant
  20. scale — in music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. degree — from a university
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lean — to bend

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