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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. mate — to breed
  4. land — a country
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bark — to shout
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pound — a weight
  14. degree — from a university
  15. mate — a partner
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. swing — music
  24. mate — a friend

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