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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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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: fine · cap · snap · degree · chip · cold · lash · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fine — all right
  4. cap — a hat
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bound — obliged
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bound — certain
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. snap — to click
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. cold — an illness
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. chip — to eat
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fine — high quality
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. lash — an eyelash

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