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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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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 · degree · march · fine · root · chair · mark · lean

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. march — music
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. fine — high quality
  5. root — of a plant
  6. degree — from a university
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. mark — a grade
  9. march — the month
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. root — the cause
  12. kick — in football
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lean — thin
  16. root — of a word
  17. chair — a leader
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a trace
  21. march — the month
  22. lean — to bend
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. fine — all right

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