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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. land — to come down
  4. band — a ring
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. land — ground
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. rest — what's left
  10. degree — from a university
  11. date — the fruit
  12. band — a music group
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. rest — a break
  15. degree — temperature
  16. land — a country
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kick — in football
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fork — in a road
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. kick — with a leg

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