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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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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: field · fall · clip · degree · chip · lash · cap · kid

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. fall — the season
  5. field — farmland
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. field — a subject
  9. chip — for betting
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a hat
  12. degree — from a university
  13. field — for sport
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cap — a lid
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. clip — a video
  22. kid — child
  23. clip — for paper
  24. degree — an amount

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