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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kick — in football
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bank — of a river
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bank — for money
  16. file — a document
  17. bank — for money
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pitch — completely
  22. file — a tool
  23. pound — a weight
  24. wax — for sculpting

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