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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. drill — a practice
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rash — a series
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. drill — army training
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rash — hasty
  14. degree — an amount
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. degree — from a university
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. degree — temperature
  19. drill — the tool
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. tear — from crying
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. hide — animal skin

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