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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: court · pound · mine · deal · degree · rash · cell · rock

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. degree — from a university
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. rash — a series
  6. degree — an amount
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rash — hasty
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. rock — music
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. court — of a king
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. court — for sport
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. rock — a stone
  22. court — of law
  23. pound — a weight
  24. deal — to handle

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