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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: rock · degree · wind · mate · calf · band · bass · foot

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. mate — to breed
  4. degree — from a university
  5. band — a ring
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wind — moving air
  11. band — a music group
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. wind — moving air
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. foot — a measure
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mate — a friend
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — music

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