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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: bear · band · saw · toast · chair · temple · row · degree

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. band — a ring
  3. row — a line
  4. chair — a leader
  5. band — a music group
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. toast — bread
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. degree — from a university
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. degree — an amount
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bear — the animal
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. degree — temperature

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