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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 · last · wound · degree · drill · fine · pitcher · cabinet

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. kick — in football
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. last — to go on
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. degree — from a university
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. fine — all right
  19. wound — an injury
  20. last — finally
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. drill — the tool
  23. last — final
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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