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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 120 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: chair · ball · wave · lie · lash · mouse · fork · degree

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. chair — a leader
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. ball — a great time
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. ball — a dance
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. degree — from a university
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. fork — in a road
  24. degree — an amount

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