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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: staff · clip · dip · scale · foot · degree · lash · hand

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. foot — a measure
  3. staff — employees
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. degree — temperature
  10. clip — to cut
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. clip — a video
  16. staff — employees
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. staff — a stick
  20. degree — from a university
  21. dip — to sink
  22. degree — an amount
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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