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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. ground — a position
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. band — a music group
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. court — for sport
  9. ground — the earth
  10. degree — an amount
  11. band — a ring
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pass — a permit
  16. court — of law
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pound — a weight
  21. court — of a king
  22. ground — crushed
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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