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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: band · content · degree · calf · tear · staff

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. staff — a stick
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. band — a ring
  8. tear — to rip
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. staff — employees
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. degree — an amount
  14. staff — employees
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. calf — a young animal

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