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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: mine · lash · degree · tear · vault · date · deal · trunk

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. vault — a safe
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. degree — from a university
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. tear — from crying
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. degree — temperature
  20. deal — to handle
  21. degree — an amount
  22. date — the fruit
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lash — to lash out

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