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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.

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: lash · bore · arm · clip · game · degree · mark · dip

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. mark — a trace
  4. bore — to tire
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. degree — an amount
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. dip — to sink
  10. clip — a video
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mark — a grade
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. game — a match
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. clip — to cut
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. game — wild animals
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bore — to drill

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