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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 116 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: last · present · pound · stand · wind · degree · mine · bulb

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bulb — for light
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. present — the time now
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stand — to bear
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. bulb — for light
  19. present — there
  20. last — to go on
  21. pound — a weight
  22. present — a gift
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. degree — from a university

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