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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.

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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: band · trunk · track · pound · degree · swing · leaves · mine

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. degree — from a university
  3. swing — music
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. mine — for digging
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. band — a music group
  9. degree — temperature
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. track — a path
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. band — a ring
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. degree — an amount
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — to play on

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