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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bass — the fish
  6. fork — in a road
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. bass — low music
  19. band — a music group
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. saw — the tool
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. degree — an amount
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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