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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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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: kick · band · dip · firm · degree · stand · bear · file

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. kick — in football
  3. firm — decided
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. firm — steady
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. degree — from a university
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bear — the animal
  10. file — a tool
  11. stand — to bear
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. file — a line of people
  16. band — a ring
  17. bear — the animal
  18. file — a document
  19. band — a music group
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. firm — a company
  23. dip — to sink
  24. degree — temperature

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