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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.

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: wound · land · craft · rush · lash · degree · kid · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  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. face — to confront
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — boats
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. land — ground
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. craft — a skill
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. face — part of the head
  16. rush — hurry
  17. land — a country
  18. wound — an injury
  19. kid — to tease
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. degree — an amount
  22. land — to come down
  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