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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · kid · bark · degree · chest · ruler

  1. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. kick — in football
  3. kid — to tease
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. bark — to shout
  6. chest — of your body
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chest — a box
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kid — child
  17. degree — from a university
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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