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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. swing — music
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. swing — to play on
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. degree — temperature
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. scale — in music
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. ball — a dance
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. degree — from a university
  18. swing — in golf
  19. dip — to sink
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. degree — an amount
  23. scale — size or range
  24. band — a music group

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