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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: degree · ball · bound · pop · row · kick · club · land

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — a country
  4. ball — a great time
  5. degree — temperature
  6. ball — a dance
  7. club — a group
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. row — a line
  10. bound — obliged
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. kick — in football
  13. pop — music
  14. bound — certain
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. club — for dancing
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pop — soda
  20. bound — tied together
  21. degree — from a university
  22. club — for golf
  23. land — ground
  24. kick — with a leg

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