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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: pound · trunk · tear · degree · swing · mate

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. tear — from crying
  3. swing — music
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — from a university
  8. swing — to play on
  9. degree — an amount
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pound — a weight
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. degree — temperature
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. tear — to rip
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. mate — a partner

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