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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. rock — music
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rock — a stone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. pound — a weight
  9. mark — a grade
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — in football
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. degree — an amount
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. cell — in biology
  24. degree — from a university

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