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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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468
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: chair · degree · club · lash · face · fan · pop · racket

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. face — part of the head
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. chair — a leader
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. club — for dancing
  7. face — to point toward
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. club — a group
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. pop — soda
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. face — to confront
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. pop — to visit
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pop — music
  23. degree — temperature
  24. club — for golf

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