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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 120 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a music group
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. degree — an amount
  5. shower — rain
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chip — to eat
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. shower — to wash
  13. degree — temperature
  14. season — of the year
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. degree — from a university
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. object — to protest
  20. band — a ring
  21. bat — the animal
  22. object — an aim
  23. season — in sport
  24. object — a thing

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