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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: date · bark · degree · coach · drill · bore · lash · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bore — to tire
  5. date — the fruit
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bark — to shout
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. rule — government
  13. drill — army training
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. drill — the tool
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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