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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. roll — a list
  4. track — a path
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. roll — a cake
  8. track — to keep track
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pound — a weight
  12. wake — a trail
  13. track — a song
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. degree — from a university
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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