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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. can — to be able to
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. can — a tin
  6. band — a music group
  7. can — a tin
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. chair — a leader
  12. toast — bread
  13. band — a ring
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. spring — the season
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. degree — from a university
  21. spring — a coil
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. chair — a professorship

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