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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bore — to tire
  3. band — a music group
  4. tear — to rip
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cap — a lid
  8. swing — to play on
  9. degree — an amount
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. cap — a hat
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — music
  15. bore — to drill
  16. net — after costs
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cap — of ice
  19. rock — a stone
  20. swing — music
  21. band — a ring
  22. swing — in golf
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bore — gave birth

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