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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. 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. drill — a practice
  3. last — finally
  4. saw — the tool
  5. band — a music group
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. degree — from a university
  9. last — final
  10. prune — to trim
  11. shower — to wash
  12. band — a ring
  13. shower — rain
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. drill — army training
  16. prune — to trim
  17. degree — temperature
  18. last — to go on
  19. drill — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. deal — to handle
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. 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