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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: degree · arm · press · chair · fan · club · jam · lash

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. club — for dancing
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. chair — a leader
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. degree — temperature
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. club — a group
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. club — for golf
  18. press — to push
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. press — newspapers
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. press — a publisher
  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