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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: last · degree · bay · scale · fork · lash · clip · cell

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. last — finally
  6. clip — a video
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. scale — size or range
  9. fork — in a road
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. cell — in biology
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. last — to go on
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. degree — temperature
  18. scale — in music
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. degree — an amount
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cell — a phone
  23. last — final
  24. clip — for paper

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