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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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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: file · spell · pound · court · bore · degree · cell · lean

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. file — a tool
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. degree — temperature
  6. spell — a short time
  7. court — for sport
  8. spell — letters
  9. bore — to drill
  10. lean — to bend
  11. pound — a weight
  12. spell — magic
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. degree — from a university
  15. lean — thin
  16. cell — a phone
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. court — of a king
  20. cell — in biology
  21. file — a document
  22. court — of law
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. lean — to rest against

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