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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a music group
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. wax — to grow
  7. chip — for betting
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bear — the animal
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. file — a tool
  17. mark — a grade
  18. degree — temperature
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. chip — to eat
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. degree — an amount
  24. mark — to pay attention

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