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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rule — government
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. root — of a plant
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wound — an injury
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. rule — a law
  17. root — the cause
  18. stand — to bear
  19. clip — a video
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. root — of a word
  24. degree — an amount

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