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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: deal · kick · bowl · sharp · pound · band · can · degree

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. degree — an amount
  4. band — a ring
  5. pound — a weight
  6. kick — in football
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. deal — to handle
  9. can — a tin
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. sharp — clever
  17. band — a music group
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. can — a tin
  24. bowl — a football final

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