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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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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: last · degree · pound · bear · mine · rule

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bear — the animal
  8. last — to go on
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. last — finally
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. rule — government
  14. bear — the animal
  15. last — final
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rule — a law

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