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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 116 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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. tear — from crying
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. band — a ring
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. band — a music group
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. march — music
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. tear — from crying
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. tear — to rip

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