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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: squash · degree · band · wake · kid · fork · roll · tear

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. tear — from crying
  4. roll — a list
  5. degree — from a university
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wake — a trail
  8. kid — child
  9. degree — temperature
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a cake
  12. squash — the sport
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. band — a ring
  17. tear — from crying
  18. band — a music group
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. kid — to tease
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wake — before a funeral

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