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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 120 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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. degree — an amount
  5. content — the amount
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wound — an injury
  10. degree — temperature
  11. content — happy
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pound — a weight
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wound — an injury
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. degree — from a university
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. saw — the tool

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