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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: pound · hand · pit · racket · game · bear · shower · degree

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. pit — a hole
  8. hand — in cards
  9. degree — temperature
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. hand — help
  12. pit — in a race
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bear — the animal
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. shower — to wash
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pound — a weight
  22. degree — an amount
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. shower — rain

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