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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: jam · band · firm · degree · last · wind · track · bound

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — certain
  5. wind — moving air
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. firm — a company
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. last — to go on
  11. firm — steady
  12. wind — moving air
  13. track — a song
  14. band — a music group
  15. degree — an amount
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. firm — decided
  19. last — finally
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. degree — from a university
  22. band — a ring
  23. bound — obliged
  24. track — a path

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