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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: kick · march · degree · snap · rash · rush · net · suit

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. net — after costs
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. snap — to click
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — a series
  7. kick — in football
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. degree — temperature
  11. net — in sport
  12. march — the month
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. degree — from a university
  15. march — music
  16. rush — hurry
  17. suit — clothes
  18. suit — to fit
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. degree — an amount
  22. march — the month
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. net — for catching

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