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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 · wound · degree · season · cell · content · arm · last

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. content — the amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. content — happy
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. last — to go on
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. last — final
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wound — an injury
  21. season — in sport
  22. last — finally
  23. season — of the year
  24. arm — part of the body

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