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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.

Make a worksheet

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: chest · rush · squash · kid · degree · current · lash · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. squash — the sport
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. land — to come down
  7. current — happening now
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. kid — child
  16. current — of water
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. degree — temperature
  20. kid — to tease
  21. current — electric
  22. squash — to crush
  23. land — a country
  24. rush — hurry

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