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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: spring · plane · toast · mark · band · degree · last · land

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. degree — temperature
  3. band — a music group
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. last — to go on
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. land — ground
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. last — finally
  10. degree — from a university
  11. last — final
  12. spring — of water
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. land — a country
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. degree — an amount
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. band — a ring
  23. spring — the season
  24. land — to come down

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