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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: wind · coach · wave · degree · band · pound · fall · sharp

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. band — a ring
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. fall — to drop
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. pound — a weight
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. fall — the season
  22. wind — moving air
  23. sharp — clever
  24. degree — an amount

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