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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. ground — crushed
  4. degree — from a university
  5. suit — to fit
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. ground — a position
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mine — for digging
  10. suit — clothes
  11. drill — a practice
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — hurry
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. suit — in cards
  17. drill — the tool
  18. ground — the earth
  19. degree — temperature
  20. band — a ring
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. drill — army training
  24. mine — belonging to me

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