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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bat — the animal
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. drill — army training
  6. can — to be able to
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. drill — a practice
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ground — crushed
  16. can — a tin
  17. band — a ring
  18. ground — the earth
  19. drill — the tool
  20. can — a tin
  21. rush — hurry
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. ground — a position
  24. fan — a supporter

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