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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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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: bass · tear · rush · bound · suit · lash · hand · degree

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. hand — help
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bound — obliged
  8. tear — to rip
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bass — the fish
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. degree — temperature
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. degree — from a university
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — certain
  21. suit — clothes
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — in cards

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