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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: mug · degree · kick · stick · bank · wound · land · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. mug — a face
  3. toast — bread
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bank — of a river
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bank — for money
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. mug — a cup
  14. mug — to rob
  15. land — to come down
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bank — for money
  18. wound — an injury
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. degree — from a university

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