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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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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: degree · shower · bark · wind · lean · deal · lash · cap

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bark — to shout
  3. degree — from a university
  4. shower — rain
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lean — thin
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. cap — a hat
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. wind — moving air
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cap — of ice
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lean — to bend
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. deal — to handle

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