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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: wound · bear · pop · bowl · degree · calf · cold · charge

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cold — an illness
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bear — the animal
  13. degree — an amount
  14. charge — in control
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — electricity
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. pop — to visit

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