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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. band — a ring
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. band — a music group
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rash — a series
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. degree — temperature
  24. plane — a tool

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