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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. degree — from a university
  3. race — a contest
  4. band — a ring
  5. game — a match
  6. track — a song
  7. degree — temperature
  8. band — a music group
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. track — a path
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — the arms race
  17. track — to keep track
  18. fork — in a road
  19. degree — an amount
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. wax — to grow
  24. game — wild animals

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