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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. drill — army training
  3. degree — an amount
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — for digging
  12. drill — the tool
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. mate — to breed
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. drill — a practice
  17. mate — a friend
  18. calf — a young animal

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