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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. tear — to rip
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. band — a music group
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mark — a grade
  12. capital — a city
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mark — a trace
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. capital — money
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. toast — bread
  22. fork — in a road
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. band — a rubber band

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