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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. suit — in cards
  3. craft — boats
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cold — not warm
  6. craft — a skill
  7. suit — clothes
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. mark — a grade
  11. prune — to trim
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. band — a ring
  15. degree — temperature
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. mark — a trace
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. suit — to fit
  23. cold — an illness
  24. prune — the fruit

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