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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rash — a series
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. degree — temperature
  7. band — a ring
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pop — soda
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pop — to visit
  15. wax — to grow
  16. capital — a city
  17. rash — hasty
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pop — music
  23. capital — money
  24. jam — in traffic

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