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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 120 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: degree · board · cold · rest · kick · content · drill · deal

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  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. drill — army training
  2. rest — a break
  3. board — a committee
  4. content — happy
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rest — what's left
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. content — the amount
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. cold — an illness
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. deal — to handle
  20. kick — in football
  21. drill — a practice
  22. board — to get on
  23. deal — a big deal
  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