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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · cell · band · pass · degree · bank

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. bank — of a river
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. band — a music group
  6. cell — a phone
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. fork — in a road
  13. band — a ring
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. cell — in biology

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