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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: chip · lash · wave · field · object · degree · fall · drill

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. object — to protest
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. object — a thing
  8. field — farmland
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. fall — the season
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. object — an aim
  14. drill — a practice
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. degree — temperature
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. degree — an amount
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — to eat

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