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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. degree — temperature
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a music group
  6. pass — a permit
  7. degree — an amount
  8. face — to confront
  9. roll — a list
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chest — of your body
  12. face — to point toward
  13. band — a ring
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. chest — a box
  18. roll — a cake
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. chest — of your body
  23. face — part of the head
  24. roll — on a roll

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