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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: dip · pound · lash · chest · degree · game · chair · racket

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. dip — to sink
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. pound — a weight
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. degree — an amount
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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