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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. band — a music group
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. suit — in cards
  8. suit — to fit
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. chair — a leader
  15. suit — clothes
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. degree — an amount

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