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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · wound · bound · sharp · hand · cabinet · net · pound

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. net — in sport
  4. degree — from a university
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wound — an injury
  7. net — after costs
  8. hand — help
  9. net — for catching
  10. bound — obliged
  11. degree — temperature
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bound — certain
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. wound — an injury

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