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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. pit — a hole
  3. chest — of your body
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pit — in a race
  6. degree — temperature
  7. kid — to tease
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chest — a box
  15. kid — child
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. chest — of your body
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. branch — of a bank

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