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

Word bank: chip · lash · press · chair · degree · trunk

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. chair — a leader
  3. press — a publisher
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chip — to eat
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chip — for betting
  9. degree — from a university
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. press — to push
  14. press — newspapers
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. chair — a professorship

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