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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 120 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: bound · ground · lean · degree · kick · drill · stand · straw

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bound — certain
  5. degree — an amount
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. drill — a practice
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ground — crushed
  12. degree — temperature
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. kick — in football
  15. bound — tied together
  16. drill — army training
  17. ground — the earth
  18. lean — to bend
  19. ground — a position
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — to bear
  22. bound — obliged
  23. lean — thin
  24. degree — from a university

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