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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: spell · cap · leaves · last · bass · degree · band · file

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. 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. cap — of ice
  2. spell — a short time
  3. degree — an amount
  4. last — to go on
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bass — low music
  9. last — finally
  10. spell — letters
  11. file — a tool
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. file — a document
  15. last — final
  16. spell — magic
  17. cap — a lid
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bass — the fish
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. 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