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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mate · degree · pitch · bound · hand · pound · shower · file

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. file — a tool
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mate — a partner
  6. file — a line of people
  7. degree — an amount
  8. shower — rain
  9. pitch — completely
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — obliged
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. mate — a friend
  18. file — a document
  19. bound — certain
  20. mate — to breed
  21. pound — a weight
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. pound — for dogs

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