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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 124 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. fine — high quality
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. tear — from crying
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. degree — from a university
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. tear — from crying
  20. degree — temperature
  21. tear — to rip
  22. fine — all right
  23. band — a music group
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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