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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 120 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. drill — army training
  3. board — to get on
  4. press — a publisher
  5. band — a ring
  6. drill — a practice
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. degree — an amount
  9. plane — a tool
  10. tear — to rip
  11. drill — the tool
  12. chest — of your body
  13. tear — from crying
  14. degree — temperature
  15. tear — from crying
  16. band — a music group
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. chest — a box
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. degree — from a university
  22. board — a committee
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. chest — of your body

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