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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. march — music
  5. band — a ring
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. degree — temperature
  8. scale — in music
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to sink
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. degree — an amount
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. pound — a weight
  17. degree — from a university
  18. row — a line
  19. march — the month
  20. prune — to trim
  21. scale — size or range
  22. prune — to trim
  23. row — to paddle
  24. march — the month

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