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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. degree — temperature
  4. chest — of your body
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. chest — a box
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mate — to breed
  18. drill — the tool
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — a friend

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