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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. chip — to eat
  7. degree — from a university
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chip — for betting
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. mug — a face
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mug — to rob
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mug — a cup
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lash — an eyelash

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