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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: degree · chip · lash · cold · mine · staff · pit · club

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — a hole
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chip — to eat
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. chip — for betting
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. club — for dancing
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pit — in a race
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. club — a group
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. staff — a stick
  24. club — for golf

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