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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: jam · lash · bulb · drill · toast · degree · cell · chest

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. drill — army training
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. cell — a phone
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. degree — temperature
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — from a university
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. chest — a box
  16. cell — in biology
  17. toast — bread
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bulb — for light
  24. drill — the tool

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