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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: ground · kick · last · game · club · temple · degree · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. club — for dancing
  4. ground — crushed
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. game — a match
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. club — a group
  9. game — wild animals
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. last — to go on
  12. degree — an amount
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. last — final
  18. fine — all right
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. degree — from a university
  22. kick — in football
  23. club — for golf
  24. last — finally

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