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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: fan · row · chip · bass · face · hand · degree · lash

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bass — the fish
  4. face — part of the head
  5. row — a line
  6. face — to point toward
  7. degree — temperature
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. degree — from a university
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — to eat
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. degree — an amount
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bass — low music
  23. face — to confront
  24. chip — for betting

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