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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. band — a ring
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. wind — moving air
  9. last — to go on
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. last — final
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. degree — from a university
  19. lean — thin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. lean — to bend
  24. last — finally

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