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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 116 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. drill — a practice
  4. ground — the earth
  5. hand — help
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. drill — the tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. ground — a position
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fall — to drop
  17. kick — in football
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. drill — army training
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. fall — the season

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