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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: rash · ground · pit · degree · kick · branch · club · wind

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. ground — a position
  3. degree — an amount
  4. ground — the earth
  5. club — a group
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. branch — a division
  8. club — for golf
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. rash — hasty
  12. club — for dancing
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. rash — a series
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wind — moving air
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pit — a hole
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — in football
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. branch — of a bank

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