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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bound — tied together
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. spring — a coil
  6. degree — an amount
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. band — a music group
  10. degree — from a university
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. roll — a list
  14. saw — the tool
  15. band — a ring
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. roll — a cake
  18. bound — obliged
  19. spring — the season
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bound — certain
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. hand — help
  24. spring — of water

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