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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: rock · kid · degree · pop · pit · game · chest · lash

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — music
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pit — in a race
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. pit — a hole
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. rock — music
  19. chest — a box
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. pop — to visit
  22. chest — of your body
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rock — a stone

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