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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 · bowl · trunk · tear · wind · pound

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. degree — an amount
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. degree — temperature
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. pound — a weight
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wind — moving air
  18. trunk — of an elephant

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