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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: spring · safe · degree · land · band · wake · last · nail

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. band — a ring
  3. spring — a coil
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. land — ground
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. land — a country
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. degree — temperature
  13. band — a music group
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. degree — an amount
  16. last — final
  17. land — to come down
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. last — to go on
  20. spring — the season
  21. degree — from a university
  22. spring — of water
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. last — finally

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