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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: hide · wound · rule · march · rock · degree · kick · prune

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. rock — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rule — a law
  8. kick — in football
  9. rock — a stone
  10. march — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. prune — to trim
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. march — the month
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. march — the month

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