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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. can — to be able to
  4. band — a ring
  5. scale — in music
  6. march — music
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. band — a music group
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. degree — an amount
  12. scale — size or range
  13. face — part of the head
  14. can — a tin
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. face — to confront
  17. march — the month
  18. degree — from a university
  19. can — a tin
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. face — to point toward
  22. march — the month
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. wave — of the sea

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