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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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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: stand · degree · shower · perch · chair · stick · kid · lash

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. kid — child
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stand — to bear
  18. perch — the fish
  19. degree — temperature
  20. kid — to tease
  21. degree — from a university
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. shower — rain
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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