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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 116 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: deal · safe · bowl · degree · march · saw · band · straw

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. band — a music group
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. degree — an amount
  7. band — a ring
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. saw — the tool
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — temperature
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. march — music
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. march — the month
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bowl — a football final

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