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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: saw · content · degree · stick · shower · pound · craft · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. degree — from a university
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pound — a weight
  7. degree — temperature
  8. craft — boats
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wind — moving air
  12. content — the amount
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. saw — the tool
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. content — happy

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