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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: rash · cell · wind · bear · chip · degree · march · kick

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. cell — in biology
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. march — music
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — a series
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cell — a phone
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kick — in football
  22. chip — to eat
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wind — moving air

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