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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: rest · patient · lie · degree · key · band · foot · stand

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rest — what's left
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. degree — temperature
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. key — for a lock
  13. rest — a break
  14. foot — a measure
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. key — the most important part
  17. band — a ring
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. key — in music
  22. rest — what's left
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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