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

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. club — a group
  7. clip — to cut
  8. scale — in music
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. clip — a video
  11. snap — to click
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. clip — for paper
  14. degree — an amount
  15. club — for golf
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chair — a leader
  18. scale — size or range
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. club — for dancing
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. degree — temperature

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