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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 · drill · straw · fine · roll · coach · present · degree

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. degree — an amount
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. roll — a list
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. drill — a practice
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. present — there
  12. roll — a cake
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. drill — the tool
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. drill — army training
  22. kick — in football
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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