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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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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: racket · mark · mine · pound · stand · pop · degree · file

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. file — a line of people
  3. mark — a trace
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. stand — to bear
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. file — a tool
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. pop — soda
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. file — a document

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