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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 116 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: key · lie · trunk · march · degree · pitcher · kick · tear

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. kick — in football
  3. tear — to rip
  4. march — the month
  5. key — the most important part
  6. tear — from crying
  7. march — music
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. march — the month
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. key — in music
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tear — from crying
  17. key — for a lock
  18. lie — to recline
  19. degree — temperature
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. degree — from a university

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