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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.

Words on the sheet
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: track · cell · shower · degree · pitcher · craft · pound · march

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. shower — to wash
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. craft — a skill
  8. track — a path
  9. march — the month
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. shower — rain
  17. craft — boats
  18. track — to keep track
  19. pound — a weight
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. degree — temperature
  23. track — a song
  24. pitcher — a jug

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