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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: kick · season · perch · last · racket · mate · ground · degree

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. ground — a position
  3. kick — in football
  4. ground — crushed
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. perch — the fish
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — a friend
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. last — finally
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. ground — the earth
  17. mate — to breed
  18. degree — from a university
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. season — in sport
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. racket — for tennis

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