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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: deal · band · fall · last · bowl · rest · drill · degree

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. last — finally
  3. rest — what's left
  4. band — a ring
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. drill — the tool
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. last — to go on
  11. band — a music group
  12. fall — the season
  13. rest — what's left
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. drill — army training
  16. degree — temperature
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rest — a break
  19. last — final
  20. fall — to drop
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. drill — a practice

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