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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: degree · mark · kick · cap · squash · season · hand · sharp

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. degree — from a university
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. degree — temperature
  8. sharp — clever
  9. degree — an amount
  10. season — in sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. mark — a grade
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. season — of the year
  17. cap — a hat
  18. squash — the sport
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. mark — a trace
  22. kick — in football
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. kick — a thrill

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