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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 116 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: lash · craft · rush · chip · fork · cell · degree · fall

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. chip — to eat
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chip — for betting
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rush — hurry
  16. fall — the season
  17. cell — a phone
  18. craft — a skill
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cell — in biology
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. degree — an amount
  24. craft — boats

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