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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: band · shower · mate · degree · staff · hand · calf · ball

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. staff — employees
  3. shower — to wash
  4. hand — in cards
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mate — a friend
  7. degree — temperature
  8. mate — a partner
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. staff — a stick
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. mate — to breed
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. ball — a great time
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. degree — from a university
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. staff — employees
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a round shape

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