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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. degree — temperature
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. scale — size or range
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. club — for dancing
  7. land — ground
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pound — a weight
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. club — a group
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. scale — in music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. degree — an amount
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. wind — moving air
  21. club — for golf
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  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