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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: staff · saw · pound · sharp · degree · racket · mine · rush

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. degree — temperature
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pound — a weight
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. degree — from a university
  11. staff — employees
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. staff — employees
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. staff — a stick

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