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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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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: foot · degree · pound · sharp · hand · bank · fan · arm

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — a measure
  4. pound — a weight
  5. sharp — clever
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bank — for money
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. hand — help
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. hand — in cards
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

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