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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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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 · ruler · wound · cell · hand · object · kid · degree

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. object — an aim
  5. degree — an amount
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cell — a phone
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. hand — help
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. object — to protest
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. kid — child

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