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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. band — a ring
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. bear — the animal
  9. land — ground
  10. bear — the animal
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. land — a country
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wake — a trail
  16. band — a music group
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. degree — an amount
  20. land — to come down
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. track — to keep track
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. band — a rubber band

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