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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: degree · tear · wound · band · pop · suit · charge · rush

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. pop — music
  5. suit — in cards
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. suit — to fit
  8. tear — from crying
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. charge — in control
  11. band — a music group
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — hurry
  15. tear — from crying
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pop — soda
  18. charge — electricity
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tear — to rip
  21. charge — a price
  22. band — a ring
  23. wound — an injury
  24. suit — clothes

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