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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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Word bank
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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: bear · scale · band · file · degree · drill · arm · vault

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. drill — the tool
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. drill — a practice
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. drill — army training
  14. file — a tool
  15. degree — from a university
  16. file — a document
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. band — a music group
  20. bear — the animal
  21. scale — size or range
  22. file — a line of people
  23. vault — a safe
  24. bear — the 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