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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: bear · lash · clip · degree · field · roll · chair · stock

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. degree — temperature
  5. clip — a video
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — for paper
  9. stock — goods
  10. clip — to cut
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. degree — from a university
  13. roll — a cake
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. stock — shares
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. field — for sport
  19. roll — a list
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. chair — a leader
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bear — the animal

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