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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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: rock · hand · can · lash · degree · chair · straw · squash

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. squash — to crush
  3. can — a tin
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. can — a tin
  6. hand — in cards
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. can — to be able to
  10. hand — help
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — a stone
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. squash — the sport
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. degree — from a university
  24. squash — the vegetable

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