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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bank — for money
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. band — a music group
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a ring
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. bank — of a river
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. degree — from a university
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bank — for money
  24. lash — an eyelash

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