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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: foot · last · degree · kick · ground · sharp · march · scale

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. foot — a measure
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. march — music
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. march — the month
  10. scale — in music
  11. ground — a position
  12. sharp — clever
  13. last — to go on
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — an amount
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. last — finally
  20. degree — from a university
  21. last — final
  22. scale — size or range
  23. degree — temperature
  24. kick — in football

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