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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. kid — child
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. kid — to tease
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. band — a ring
  7. mug — a face
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. ground — the earth
  12. band — a music group
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mug — a cup
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. degree — temperature
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. ground — crushed
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the sport
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ground — a position

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