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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: ground · staff · rest · band · pop · bound · saw · degree

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. staff — employees
  3. pop — to visit
  4. ground — a position
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. staff — a stick
  8. band — a ring
  9. pop — music
  10. bound — tied together
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. degree — from a university
  13. saw — the tool
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pop — soda
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rest — what's left
  20. degree — temperature
  21. staff — employees
  22. band — a music group
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — crushed

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