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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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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: drill · cell · degree · kick · pound · bound · rush · perch

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pound — a weight
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bound — obliged
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bound — tied together
  13. rush — hurry
  14. bound — certain
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. drill — army training
  17. kick — in football
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. degree — temperature
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. perch — the fish

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