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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. hand — in cards
  3. degree — temperature
  4. staff — employees
  5. fine — all right
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wax — to grow
  13. snap — to click
  14. staff — a stick
  15. degree — from a university
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. band — a ring
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. mate — to breed
  22. hand — help
  23. staff — employees
  24. band — a music group

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