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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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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: board · file · trunk · toast · lash · cell · degree · roll

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. roll — a list
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. toast — bread
  6. cell — a phone
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. board — to get on
  9. file — a line of people
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. degree — from a university
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. degree — an amount
  18. board — a committee
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. degree — temperature
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. cell — in biology

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