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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: chip · drill · staff · face · cap · band · last · degree

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. last — finally
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a music group
  5. cap — a lid
  6. degree — temperature
  7. staff — employees
  8. cap — of ice
  9. degree — from a university
  10. face — part of the head
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. cap — a hat
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. chip — to eat
  16. face — to point toward
  17. staff — employees
  18. last — final
  19. drill — a practice
  20. band — a ring
  21. last — to go on
  22. chip — for betting
  23. face — to confront
  24. degree — an amount

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