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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. degree — temperature
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bound — obliged
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. band — a music group
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bore — to drill
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bound — certain
  23. degree — an amount
  24. band — a ring

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