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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 120 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: lie · bound · bark · tear · pound · degree · charge · game

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. game — a match
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lie — to recline
  5. tear — to rip
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — from a university
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pound — a weight
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bound — obliged
  19. game — wild animals
  20. charge — in control
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bound — certain
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. charge — a price

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