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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: pass · pound · drill · bear · kid · march · degree · root

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. degree — an amount
  7. drill — the tool
  8. root — of a word
  9. march — the month
  10. drill — a practice
  11. degree — from a university
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a plant
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. kid — child
  17. march — the month
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. kid — to tease
  22. drill — army training
  23. march — music
  24. bear — the animal

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