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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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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: pit · last · saw · pound · staff · roll · degree · kid

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — a weight
  3. kid — to tease
  4. last — to go on
  5. staff — employees
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. kid — child
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. saw — the tool
  11. staff — a stick
  12. last — final
  13. degree — an amount
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. staff — employees
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. roll — a list
  19. pit — in a race
  20. roll — a cake
  21. degree — from a university
  22. saw — the tool
  23. degree — temperature
  24. last — finally

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