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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wound — an injury
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. band — a music group
  10. roll — a cake
  11. degree — an amount
  12. roll — a list
  13. degree — temperature
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. degree — from a university
  19. band — a ring
  20. lean — thin
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. lean — to bend
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to sink

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