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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cap — a lid
  4. degree — temperature
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cap — of ice
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. degree — from a university
  15. race — a contest
  16. pound — a weight
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cap — a hat
  19. race — humankind
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. scale — in music
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. band — a music group
  24. bear — the animal

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