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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. clip — for paper
  3. band — a music group
  4. chest — of your body
  5. clip — to cut
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ball — a dance
  8. mug — a cup
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mug — a face
  11. ball — a great time
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. clip — a video
  15. root — the cause
  16. chest — a box
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. root — of a word
  19. bound — tied together
  20. root — of a plant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. band — a ring
  23. mug — to rob
  24. degree — temperature

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