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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: degree · coach · tear · rest · date · cell · kick · ground

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. kick — in football
  4. rest — a break
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. ground — a position
  7. date — the fruit
  8. degree — temperature
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ground — crushed
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cell — a phone
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rest — what's left
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ground — the earth
  21. rest — what's left
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cell — in biology
  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