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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: pound · lash · degree · cell · hide · court

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. pound — a weight
  3. court — for sport
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cell — in biology
  6. court — of a king
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. court — of law
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. degree — temperature
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret

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