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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: chip · band · pound · key · sharp · cell · degree · ground

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. ground — crushed
  3. degree — from a university
  4. key — for a lock
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. band — a music group
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. band — a ring
  10. key — the most important part
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. chip — for betting
  15. ground — the earth
  16. degree — an amount
  17. cell — in biology
  18. ground — a position
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pound — a weight
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. chip — to eat
  24. key — in music

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