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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. key — in music
  4. key — the most important part
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. drill — the tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bark — to shout
  9. drill — a practice
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. file — a document
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. drill — army training
  16. file — a tool
  17. wake — a trail
  18. degree — from a university
  19. key — for a lock
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. file — a line of people
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — to recline
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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