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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. craft — boats
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. band — a ring
  13. degree — an amount
  14. kid — child
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. craft — a skill
  18. kid — to tease
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. band — a music group

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