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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: rule · degree · calf · lash · kid · mine · bore · spring

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mine — for digging
  5. spring — a coil
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. rule — government
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. spring — the season
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. spring — of water
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. degree — an amount
  15. rule — a law
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bore — to drill
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bore — to tire
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. degree — temperature

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