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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rule — a law
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — an amount
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wind — moving air
  9. band — a ring
  10. rule — government
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bank — for money
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. snap — to click
  16. bank — for money
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bank — of a river
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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