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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: pound · squash · game · degree · land · coach · nail · band

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. degree — from a university
  3. band — a music group
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. land — a country
  9. squash — the sport
  10. land — ground
  11. pound — a weight
  12. band — a ring
  13. degree — an amount
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. degree — temperature
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. squash — to crush
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. nail — for a hammer

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