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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rest · fall · band · mine · hand · wake · mug · degree

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. degree — temperature
  7. hand — in cards
  8. degree — an amount
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. wake — a trail
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mug — a face
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rest — a break
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fall — to drop
  17. degree — from a university
  18. hand — help
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mug — a cup
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wake — before a funeral

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