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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 120 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 · stick · wind · root · chest · bear · ball · degree

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. root — of a plant
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bear — the animal
  7. chest — a box
  8. root — the cause
  9. wind — moving air
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pound — a weight
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. ball — a dance
  22. root — of a word
  23. chest — of your body
  24. degree — temperature

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