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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: bark · foot · ground · lash · safe · fall · fan · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. ground — crushed
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. ground — the earth
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fall — the season
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. ground — a position
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. degree — temperature
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. foot — a measure
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — out of danger

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