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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pound — a weight
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. degree — temperature
  15. tube — a container
  16. kid — child
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. degree — an amount
  24. sharp — exactly

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