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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: toast · trunk · march · row · kick · mine · bound · degree

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. degree — an amount
  5. kick — in football
  6. bound — obliged
  7. row — a line
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. march — the month
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bound — tied together
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. march — the month
  18. toast — bread
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bound — certain
  21. march — music
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. row — to paddle
  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