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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: dip · fan · land · tube · degree · wind · pound · face

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. face — to confront
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — a container
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pound — a weight
  12. degree — from a university
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. face — part of the head
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. land — a country
  19. wind — moving air
  20. land — ground
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. land — to come down
  24. tube — the underground

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