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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: band · present · degree · drill · swing · prune · hand · staff

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. swing — music
  4. band — a music group
  5. prune — to trim
  6. drill — the tool
  7. staff — a stick
  8. hand — in cards
  9. drill — army training
  10. swing — in golf
  11. present — a gift
  12. drill — a practice
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. degree — an amount
  15. swing — to play on
  16. staff — employees
  17. present — the time now
  18. hand — help
  19. degree — from a university
  20. present — there
  21. degree — temperature
  22. prune — to trim
  23. staff — employees
  24. prune — the fruit

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