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

Word bank: kid · lash · cell · ruler · degree · lie

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cell — in biology
  6. kid — to tease
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. degree — from a university
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. degree — temperature
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. kid — child

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