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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 116 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. 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. pound — a weight
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. mate — a partner
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. fork — in a road
  10. degree — an amount
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — to breed
  18. 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