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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 120 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: nail · kick · rule · rock · perch · degree · land · root

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rock — music
  6. rule — government
  7. land — to come down
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. degree — temperature
  10. land — a country
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. degree — from a university
  13. root — of a plant
  14. land — ground
  15. root — of a word
  16. perch — the fish
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rule — a law
  19. root — the cause
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. kick — in football
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rock — a stone

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