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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: rule · toast · bound · foot · kid · degree · bear · band

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bear — the animal
  3. degree — from a university
  4. band — a music group
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. bound — certain
  9. kid — to tease
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bear — the animal
  12. kid — child
  13. bound — tied together
  14. degree — an amount
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — government
  18. foot — a measure
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. band — a ring
  21. bound — obliged
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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