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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · chest · pound · track · ruler · cue

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. track — to keep track
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chest — a box
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a signal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chest — of your body
  12. track — a path
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. track — a song
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. cue — a hint
  18. pound — a weight

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