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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rule — government
  4. mate — a friend
  5. degree — from a university
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bark — to shout
  11. content — happy
  12. rule — a law
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chest — a box
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. content — the amount
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mate — to breed

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