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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: kick · degree · pound · arm · rush · squash

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. squash — to crush
  3. rush — hurry
  4. squash — the sport
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. kick — in football
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. pound — a weight
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. rush — to hurry

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