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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 120 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: craft · band · fork · degree · pound · cap

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. craft — boats
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. craft — a skill
  11. cap — a lid
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. cap — of ice
  15. pound — a weight
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cap — a hat

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