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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. band — a music group
  5. degree — from a university
  6. band — a ring
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. degree — temperature
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. degree — an amount
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pound — a weight
  18. wave — with your hand

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