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

Word bank: tear · degree · drill · track · chest · kick

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. drill — a practice
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. track — a path
  9. tear — to rip
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — army training
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. kick — in football
  18. degree — temperature

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