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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 120 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: pound · arm · spell · lean · degree · hand · tube · craft

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. tube — the underground
  3. pound — a weight
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. craft — boats
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. tube — a container
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spell — magic
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. hand — help
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. spell — a short time
  21. degree — an amount
  22. spell — letters
  23. craft — a skill
  24. arm — part of the body

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