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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a music group
  5. degree — temperature
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. face — to confront
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wake — a trail
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. kid — to tease
  12. face — part of the head
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. kid — child
  21. face — to point toward
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rush — hurry
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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