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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: hand · degree · toast · land · pitcher · can · pop · dip

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pop — to visit
  3. degree — temperature
  4. land — ground
  5. hand — help
  6. land — to come down
  7. dip — to sink
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pop — music
  12. hand — in cards
  13. can — to be able to
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. can — a tin
  16. degree — from a university
  17. toast — bread
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. pop — soda
  22. can — a tin
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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