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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.

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: temple · object · band · cold · mark · firm · roll · degree

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. cold — not warm
  3. roll — a list
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — an aim
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. firm — decided
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. degree — an amount
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. degree — from a university
  14. band — a ring
  15. mark — a grade
  16. roll — a cake
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. degree — temperature
  20. firm — a company
  21. object — a thing
  22. cold — an illness
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. band — a music group

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