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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 116 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: land · game · cabinet · ground · pound · rash · degree · mine

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. ground — the earth
  4. pound — a weight
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. land — a country
  8. mine — for digging
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. land — to come down
  11. degree — an amount
  12. game — a match
  13. ground — a position
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. land — ground
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rash — a series
  22. ground — crushed
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rash — hasty

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