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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. rash — a series
  4. swing — to play on
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. degree — from a university
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. band — a ring
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. swing — in golf
  11. foot — a measure
  12. band — a music group
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. saw — the tool
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. swing — music
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bank — for money

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