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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. deal — to handle
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. spell — letters
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. band — a ring
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. race — the arms race
  10. degree — an amount
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. chest — of your body
  15. band — a music group
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. spell — magic
  19. chest — of your body
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. chest — a box
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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