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

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. capital — money
  4. pit — a hole
  5. degree — temperature
  6. charge — in control
  7. ground — crushed
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. charge — electricity
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. ground — a position
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pit — in a race
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. degree — from a university
  19. capital — a city
  20. bark — to shout
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. degree — an amount
  23. ground — the earth
  24. charge — a price

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