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

Word bank: rule · snap · band · wind · degree · squash

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. band — a ring
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rule — government
  7. band — a music group
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. squash — the sport
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rule — a law
  14. wind — moving air
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university

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