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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bound — tied together
  5. key — in music
  6. rest — what's left
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. bound — certain
  9. degree — temperature
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — a cake
  12. mark — a grade
  13. degree — from a university
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bound — obliged
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. key — for a lock
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. rest — a break
  22. degree — an amount
  23. spring — the season
  24. mark — a trace

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