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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. board — a committee
  3. degree — temperature
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. band — a music group
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. land — to come down
  10. board — to get on
  11. land — ground
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. land — a country
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. degree — an amount
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. band — a ring
  21. kick — in football
  22. degree — from a university
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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