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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: chest · bear · content · pound · degree · pit

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pit — in a race
  4. chest — of your body
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pit — a hole
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bear — the animal
  13. content — the amount
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pit — a fruit stone

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