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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 120 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: bark · tear · chest · drill · ruler · safe · root · degree

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. root — of a plant
  3. chest — of your body
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. root — of a word
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bark — to shout
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. degree — an amount
  10. tear — to rip
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. drill — army training
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chest — a box
  17. drill — the tool
  18. degree — temperature
  19. tear — from crying
  20. drill — a practice
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. root — the cause
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. degree — from a university

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