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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 · degree · fan · track · bound · rest · cell · content

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. band — a music group
  4. bound — certain
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bound — obliged
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. rest — a break
  10. cell — a phone
  11. track — to keep track
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. content — happy
  14. cell — in biology
  15. degree — from a university
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. track — a song
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bound — tied together
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. content — the amount
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. band — a ring

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