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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.

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: degree · spring · chest · board · craft · bass · lash · staff

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. board — a committee
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. board — to get on
  5. chest — a box
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — low music
  8. spring — the season
  9. degree — an amount
  10. craft — boats
  11. degree — temperature
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. bass — the fish
  17. craft — a skill
  18. chest — of your body
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. staff — a stick
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. chest — of your body

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