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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. degree — temperature
  4. band — a music group
  5. rash — hasty
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. object — a thing
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. band — a ring
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. object — to protest
  14. rash — a series
  15. perch — the fish
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. content — happy
  18. degree — an amount
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. degree — from a university
  23. content — the amount
  24. object — an aim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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