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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.

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: pound · lash · file · chair · current · spring · hand · degree

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. degree — from a university
  4. spring — the season
  5. file — a tool
  6. spring — of water
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. hand — in cards
  9. degree — an amount
  10. current — happening now
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. file — a document
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. current — of water
  17. current — electric
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. pound — a weight
  20. file — a line of people
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. spring — a coil
  23. chair — a leader
  24. hand — help

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