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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · march · coach · ground · degree · net · fork · nail

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fork — in a road
  3. net — after costs
  4. degree — from a university
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. net — in sport
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. kick — in football
  9. degree — temperature
  10. march — music
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. march — the month
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. march — the month
  21. net — for catching
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. nail — for a hammer

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