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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: staff · degree · lash · temple · cell · row · mate · press

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. press — to push
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — a friend
  6. staff — a stick
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. row — to paddle
  9. press — a publisher
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mate — to breed
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. press — newspapers
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. staff — employees
  19. row — a line
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. cell — in biology
  22. staff — employees
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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