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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. fine — high quality
  3. degree — temperature
  4. spell — letters
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. spell — magic
  8. last — to go on
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. spell — a short time
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. last — finally
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. can — to be able to
  22. fine — all right
  23. band — a music group
  24. fine — a penalty

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