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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bore — to drill
  4. field — a subject
  5. tube — a container
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fall — to drop
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. band — a ring
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. field — farmland
  20. band — a music group
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bore — to tire
  23. saw — the tool
  24. field — for sport

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