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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.

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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: lash · straw · bat · stand · degree · trunk · wind · mouse

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. degree — an amount
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wind — moving air
  20. degree — temperature
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bat — the animal
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. mouse — the animal

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