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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. scale — in music
  3. degree — from a university
  4. court — for sport
  5. band — a ring
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. spell — a short time
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. spell — magic
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. degree — an amount
  14. scale — size or range
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. court — of a king
  17. lie — to recline
  18. spell — letters
  19. season — in sport
  20. degree — temperature
  21. season — of the year
  22. court — of law
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. band — a rubber band

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