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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pop · bat · degree · sharp · land · cell · chip · lash

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. cell — a phone
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. chip — for betting
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bat — the animal
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. degree — an amount
  15. land — ground
  16. pop — music
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. land — to come down
  19. chip — to eat
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pop — soda
  23. land — a country
  24. bat — in an idiom

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