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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: lash · perch · squash · file · press · date · arm · degree

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a tool
  3. degree — an amount
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. perch — the fish
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. date — the fruit
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. file — a document
  11. squash — to crush
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. degree — from a university
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. degree — temperature
  16. press — newspapers
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. press — to push
  22. squash — the sport
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. press — a publisher

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