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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: court · degree · kick · chest · calf · branch · lash · track

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. degree — an amount
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. chest — of your body
  6. track — to keep track
  7. degree — temperature
  8. court — for sport
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. degree — from a university
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chest — a box
  19. kick — in football
  20. court — of a king
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. branch — a division
  23. court — of law
  24. chest — of your body

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