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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. degree — an amount
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. race — a contest
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bat — the animal
  13. firm — steady
  14. present — there
  15. present — a gift
  16. degree — from a university
  17. firm — a company
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. firm — decided
  20. present — the time now
  21. row — to paddle
  22. race — the arms race
  23. band — a music group
  24. race — humankind

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