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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ground — the earth
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. land — to come down
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — a weight
  7. ground — a position
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. degree — temperature
  11. stand — to bear
  12. land — a country
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bound — certain
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — obliged
  22. land — ground
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pound — to hit hard

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