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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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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: season · rule · safe · saw · race · band · degree · coach

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. degree — from a university
  4. season — of the year
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. race — a contest
  9. band — a ring
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. saw — the tool
  12. season — in sport
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. rule — a law
  15. race — humankind
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. saw — the tool
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. degree — temperature
  22. band — a music group
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rule — government

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