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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. mug — a cup
  3. bass — the fish
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. tear — to rip
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — a weight
  10. race — humankind
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. race — the arms race
  13. mug — a face
  14. bass — low music
  15. squash — the sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kid — to tease
  18. degree — from a university
  19. mug — to rob
  20. race — a contest
  21. kid — child
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — from crying
  24. squash — to crush

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