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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: degree · march · kick · ruler · root · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. degree — an amount
  7. kick — in football
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. root — of a word
  12. toast — bread
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. degree — temperature
  16. root — of a plant
  17. march — the month
  18. root — the cause

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