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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: last · perch · degree · hand · race · squash · bulb · band

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. last — finally
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bulb — for light
  7. hand — in cards
  8. degree — from a university
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. bulb — for light
  16. race — humankind
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. perch — the fish
  21. race — a contest
  22. squash — the sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. race — the arms race

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