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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: rash · content · wound · present · kick · stick · degree · ground

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. ground — a position
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. present — a gift
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. content — the amount
  10. present — the time now
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. present — there
  15. content — happy
  16. ground — crushed
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. kick — in football
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rash — a series
  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