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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 · rule · kick · press · tear · drill · wound · mark

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. press — to push
  6. mark — a grade
  7. rule — a law
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. press — newspapers
  12. degree — from a university
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. drill — the tool
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. mark — a trace

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