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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 · mark · bear · shower · mine · pound · vault

  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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bear — the animal
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. ball — a great time
  8. shower — to wash
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pound — a weight
  12. mark — a grade
  13. degree — from a university
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a trace
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bear — the animal
  22. vault — a safe
  23. shower — rain
  24. bear — to put up with

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