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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. mate — to breed
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. spring — a coil
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. spring — of water
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. game — a match
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spring — the season
  14. pound — a weight
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mate — a friend
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. dip — to sink
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mate — a partner
  24. ruler — a monarch

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