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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: degree · tear · temple · band · field · rest

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. band — a music group
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. degree — an amount
  6. field — for sport
  7. band — a ring
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rest — what's left
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. tear — from crying
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. tear — from crying
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. rest — a break
  16. degree — from a university
  17. tear — to rip
  18. temple — a place of worship

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