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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. last — final
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bat — the animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. degree — from a university
  10. last — to go on
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bank — for money
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bank — for money
  16. lie — to recline
  17. file — a tool
  18. last — finally
  19. degree — an amount
  20. band — a music group
  21. bank — of a river
  22. band — a ring
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. bat — in an idiom

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