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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: rest · degree · bowl · band · row · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. band — a music group
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rest — what's left
  10. row — a line
  11. band — a ring
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. degree — temperature
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. straw — dry grass

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