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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. object — a thing
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. game — wild animals
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. hand — help
  14. object — to protest
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. game — a match
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. object — an aim
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. foot — a measure

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