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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: band · race · clip · ball · trunk · safe · degree · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. race — humankind
  5. clip — for paper
  6. face — to confront
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. degree — an amount
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. degree — from a university
  11. clip — a video
  12. degree — temperature
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. ball — a dance
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. face — part of the head
  18. race — the arms race
  19. band — a ring
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. race — a contest
  22. ball — a great time
  23. clip — to cut
  24. safe — a strongbox

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