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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. drill — army training
  3. band — a ring
  4. drill — the tool
  5. band — a music group
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bound — tied together
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. mine — for digging
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pitch — completely
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. root — of a word
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rush — hurry
  20. root — the cause
  21. bound — certain
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bound — obliged
  24. drill — a practice

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