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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: pound · degree · arm · wind · tear · jam · date · present

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. date — the fruit
  3. degree — an amount
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pound — a weight
  10. present — a gift
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — to rip
  14. present — there
  15. wind — moving air
  16. present — the time now
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. tear — from crying
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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