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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: degree · craft · band · rest · field · temple · bark · bore

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. band — a music group
  4. rest — a break
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. field — for sport
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. field — a subject
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bark — to shout
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bore — to drill
  16. field — farmland
  17. bore — to tire
  18. rest — what's left
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. band — a ring
  21. craft — boats
  22. degree — an amount
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bore — gave birth

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