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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: pop · mine · club · ball · mark · degree · bear · wound

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pop — soda
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mark — a grade
  8. pop — music
  9. mine — for digging
  10. club — for golf
  11. ball — a great time
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ball — a dance
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wound — an injury
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. club — for dancing
  23. bear — the animal
  24. club — a group

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