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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 · pound · land · clip · scale · file · bay · squash

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — a weight
  3. scale — size or range
  4. clip — for paper
  5. land — a country
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. degree — an amount
  12. land — to come down
  13. degree — from a university
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. degree — temperature
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. squash — the sport
  21. scale — in music
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. file — a document
  24. land — ground

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