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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mark — a grade
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. ground — crushed
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. degree — from a university
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mark — a trace
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. ground — a position
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. band — a music group
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. ground — the earth

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