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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: kick · degree · trunk · season · leaves · kid · spell · wind

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. kick — in football
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. spell — a short time
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. wind — moving air
  9. season — in sport
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. degree — temperature
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. kid — to tease
  15. spell — magic
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. degree — an amount
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wind — moving air
  21. season — of the year
  22. degree — from a university
  23. kid — child
  24. spell — letters

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