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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: cell · degree · mine · calf · land · pound · cap · foot

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cap — a lid
  4. foot — a measure
  5. cell — a phone
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. land — ground
  8. mine — for digging
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pound — a weight
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. land — to come down
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. cap — a hat
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. land — a country
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cell — in biology

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