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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wind — moving air
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. degree — an amount
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mark — a trace
  15. degree — temperature
  16. band — a music group
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — certain
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mark — a grade
  24. chest — of your body

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