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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: wound · degree · fan · deal · rest · band

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rest — what's left
  5. band — a ring
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. degree — temperature
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. wound — an injury
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. band — a music group
  16. deal — to handle
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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