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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. hand — in cards
  3. degree — temperature
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. degree — an amount
  8. band — a music group
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stock — shares
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stock — goods
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. hand — help
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. wind — moving air
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bound — obliged
  24. band — a ring

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