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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. can — to be able to
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pitch — completely
  12. rash — hasty
  13. can — a tin
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. degree — temperature
  17. band — a music group
  18. degree — from a university
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. can — a tin
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. nail — for a hammer

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