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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: foot · sharp · hand · perch · content · degree · kick · rule

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. perch — the fish
  4. foot — a measure
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rule — a law
  8. content — happy
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. content — the amount
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. degree — from a university
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. hand — help
  19. rule — government
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. kick — in football

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