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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bat — the animal
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. firm — decided
  7. row — a line
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. can — to be able to
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. row — to paddle
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. firm — steady
  21. firm — a company
  22. pound — a weight
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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