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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — an amount
  5. hand — help
  6. degree — from a university
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rest — a break
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bound — obliged
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. rest — what's left
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bound — certain
  17. band — a music group
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bound — tied together
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — the time now
  22. band — a ring
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. present — there

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