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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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Word bank
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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: fan · field · degree · pound · object · ruler

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pound — a weight
  3. field — for sport
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. degree — an amount
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. field — farmland
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. degree — from a university
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — a thing
  13. field — a subject
  14. object — an aim
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter

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