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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fan · mate · perch · kick · ground · spring · tube

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. tube — a container
  3. spring — of water
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spring — a coil
  8. perch — the fish
  9. mate — a friend
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mate — to breed
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. degree — temperature
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — the underground
  18. spring — the season
  19. mate — a partner
  20. ground — a position
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. ground — crushed
  23. kick — in football
  24. fan — a supporter

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