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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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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: rash · track · fall · lash · degree · chip · content · clip

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. chip — to eat
  4. content — happy
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. clip — to cut
  7. track — a song
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fall — to drop
  12. clip — a video
  13. content — the amount
  14. track — a path
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fall — to drop
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rash — a series
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. track — to keep track
  21. chip — for betting
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. rash — hasty
  24. clip — for paper

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