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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: cap · degree · bark · current · ground · lean · lash · coach

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  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. lash — to lash out
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bark — to shout
  4. degree — an amount
  5. current — electric
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cap — a lid
  8. current — of water
  9. ground — crushed
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cap — of ice
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. ground — the earth
  20. current — happening now
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. ground — a position
  23. lean — thin
  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