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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. can — to be able to
  3. chest — of your body
  4. can — a tin
  5. chest — a box
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. can — a tin
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bore — to drill
  20. band — a music group
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to tire

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