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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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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: cell · shower · face · pit · snap · staff · degree · lash

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. pit — a hole
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. snap — to click
  5. cell — in biology
  6. shower — to wash
  7. face — to point toward
  8. staff — a stick
  9. shower — rain
  10. face — part of the head
  11. staff — employees
  12. degree — from a university
  13. staff — employees
  14. degree — an amount
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. pit — in a race
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. face — to confront
  19. degree — temperature
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. cell — a phone

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