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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: date · chair · lie · spring · club · degree · charge · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. chair — a leader
  5. degree — an amount
  6. date — the fruit
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. charge — in control
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. charge — electricity
  13. club — a group
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. charge — a price
  16. spring — of water
  17. club — for golf
  18. spring — the season
  19. degree — from a university
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spring — a coil
  24. club — for dancing

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