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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. stem — to come from
  4. degree — an amount
  5. season — in sport
  6. chest — a box
  7. can — a tin
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. can — a tin
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pound — a weight
  18. can — to be able to
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. season — of the year
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pitch — completely
  24. wind — moving air

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