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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. drill — the tool
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. degree — temperature
  7. drill — a practice
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. branch — a division
  15. ball — a dance
  16. spring — a coil
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. ball — a great time
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rush — hurry
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. drill — army training
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. degree — an amount

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