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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: degree · bark · rule · lash · content · ruler

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. degree — an amount
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. degree — temperature
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. content — happy
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. content — the amount
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rule — a law
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring

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