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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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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: fork · lean · chest · trunk · band · degree · roll · cue

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. roll — a cake
  3. degree — temperature
  4. band — a music group
  5. chest — a box
  6. degree — from a university
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — to bend
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — for pool
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a list
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cue — a signal
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. degree — an amount
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. lean — thin
  24. band — a rubber band

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