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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 120 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: chair · bay · rash · degree · squash · cue · spring · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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 music group
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. spring — of water
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. degree — an amount
  7. squash — to crush
  8. rash — a series
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. rash — hasty
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a hint
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cue — a signal
  17. band — a ring
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. degree — temperature
  20. spring — the season
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. degree — from a university
  24. chair — a leader

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