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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. deal — to handle
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. degree — from a university
  7. band — a music group
  8. degree — an amount
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cap — of ice
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. band — a ring
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. cap — a hat
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. cap — a lid
  18. game — wild animals
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pound — a weight
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. degree — temperature

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