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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · lash · spring · lie · bark · nail · capital · chair

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. degree — from a university
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. degree — temperature
  6. chair — a leader
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. lie — to recline
  11. spring — of water
  12. capital — a city
  13. spring — the season
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. degree — an amount
  18. spring — a coil
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. bark — to shout
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. capital — money

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