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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: content · degree · kick · object · drill · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. degree — from a university
  5. race — a contest
  6. degree — an amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. race — the arms race
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — an aim
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. object — a thing
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. content — the amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. content — happy
  18. drill — army training

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