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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. lie — to recline
  3. dip — to sink
  4. degree — an amount
  5. rash — hasty
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. pop — music
  10. rash — a series
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. pop — to visit
  13. degree — from a university
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. tube — a container
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pop — soda
  19. band — a ring
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. degree — temperature
  24. band — a music group

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