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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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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: stock · degree · lash · chip · bound · temple · wind · face

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. stock — goods
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bound — certain
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stock — shares
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bound — obliged
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chip — for betting
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — to eat
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. wind — moving air
  18. face — to confront
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. bound — tied together
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. degree — temperature

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