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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.

Words on the sheet
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: march · safe · wound · degree · net · pound · pop · band

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pop — to visit
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. march — the month
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pop — soda
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. net — after costs
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pound — a weight
  12. march — the month
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wound — an injury
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. net — in sport
  19. band — a music group
  20. march — music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. band — a ring
  23. pop — music
  24. safe — out of danger

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