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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. suit — clothes
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. suit — in cards
  7. band — a music group
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spring — a coil
  11. degree — from a university
  12. root — the cause
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. root — of a plant
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wound — an injury
  17. suit — to fit
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. root — of a word
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fall — to drop
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. band — a ring
  24. fall — the season

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