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

Word bank: kid · drill · bark · cell · rule · lash

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. kid — child
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. cell — in biology
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bark — to shout
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. rule — government

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