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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: fork · band · degree · fan · rule · kick · perch · racket

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. degree — temperature
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. band — a music group
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rule — a law
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. kick — in football
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. degree — an amount
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rule — government
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. band — a ring
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. fork — in a road

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