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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. tear — from crying
  6. can — a tin
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tear — from crying
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. pop — soda
  11. can — a tin
  12. degree — from a university
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pop — to visit
  15. mark — a grade
  16. pop — music
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wind — moving air
  22. saw — the tool
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pound — to hit hard

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