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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: race · perch · kick · rush · lean · cabinet · saw · degree

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lean — thin
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. race — the arms race
  11. kick — in football
  12. saw — the tool
  13. race — a contest
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. race — humankind
  20. saw — the tool
  21. perch — the fish
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. rush — hurry
  24. kick — with a leg

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