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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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468
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: pound · net · rock · degree · land · fine · race · capital

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. fine — all right
  3. race — the arms race
  4. land — to come down
  5. capital — money
  6. net — for catching
  7. race — a contest
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. land — ground
  10. capital — a city
  11. land — a country
  12. net — after costs
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rock — a stone
  19. race — humankind
  20. degree — temperature
  21. net — in sport
  22. fine — high quality
  23. rock — music
  24. fine — a penalty

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