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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · net · degree · wound · kid · pound · saw · roll

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. roll — a list
  5. net — in sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. degree — an amount
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. degree — from a university
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pound — a weight
  14. net — after costs
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. net — for catching
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. degree — temperature
  23. can — a tin
  24. pound — for dogs

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