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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 dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. degree — from a university
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bark — to shout
  11. branch — a division
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. lean — thin
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. lean — to bend
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. lean — to rest against

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