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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 120 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: bark · wound · degree · swing · pass · rush · lash · coach

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. rush — hurry
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bark — to shout
  9. swing — in golf
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. pass — a permit
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. degree — an amount
  20. swing — music
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. degree — temperature
  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