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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cap — a hat
  3. key — the most important part
  4. band — a music group
  5. key — in music
  6. band — a ring
  7. game — a match
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cap — a lid
  13. game — wild animals
  14. sharp — clever
  15. degree — an amount
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. key — for a lock
  18. degree — from a university
  19. ground — a position
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. cap — of ice

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