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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. degree — temperature
  3. band — a music group
  4. degree — an amount
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. staff — employees
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. staff — a stick
  10. cap — of ice
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cap — a hat
  17. rule — a law
  18. mine — for digging
  19. race — a contest
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cap — a lid
  22. rule — government
  23. staff — employees
  24. degree — from a university

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