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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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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rest — a break
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. bear — the animal
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. degree — an amount
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bear — the animal
  9. band — a music group
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. rest — what's left
  18. degree — temperature
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. branch — a division
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. rest — what's left
  24. band — a ring

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