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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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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 · lash · hide · cold · ruler · wind · pop · dip

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. pop — to visit
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pop — soda
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. degree — an amount
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. pop — music
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. dip — to sink

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