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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 120 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: game · degree · nail · pound · racket · lash · content · perch

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pound — a weight
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. game — wild animals
  6. perch — the fish
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. game — a match

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