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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: last · wind · current · wound · degree · tube · lash · season

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. degree — an amount
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. wound — an injury
  6. current — of water
  7. wind — moving air
  8. current — electric
  9. tube — a container
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. last — to go on
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. tube — the underground
  18. last — finally
  19. current — happening now
  20. last — final
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. season — of the year
  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