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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. degree — temperature
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. rest — a break
  5. cold — an illness
  6. charge — in control
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. charge — electricity
  10. band — a ring
  11. court — of a king
  12. charge — a price
  13. court — for sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. court — of law
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. degree — from a university
  21. craft — boats
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — a handicraft

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