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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 116 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: coach · fine · file · lash · degree · lie · kid · fork

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. fine — all right
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fine — high quality
  17. kid — child
  18. degree — from a university
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kid — to tease
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. lie — an untruth

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