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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.

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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 · wake · ruler · firm · field · straw · degree · foot

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. foot — a measure
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. field — a subject
  6. band — a ring
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. band — a music group
  10. field — farmland
  11. firm — a company
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. field — for sport
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. degree — temperature
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. firm — steady
  23. wake — a trail
  24. firm — decided

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