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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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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: foot · pop · wake · charge · degree · scale · mine · pound

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. charge — in control
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. foot — a measure
  7. pop — music
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. pop — soda
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. scale — size or range
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. charge — electricity
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pop — to visit
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pound — a weight
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. charge — a price
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wake — a trail
  23. scale — in music
  24. mine — for digging

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