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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: chip · perch · kick · rule · content · degree

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. content — happy
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. kick — in football
  8. perch — the fish
  9. content — the amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rule — government
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. chip — to eat
  14. rule — a law
  15. degree — temperature
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. chip — for betting
  18. degree — an amount

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