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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: degree · object · rest · cabinet · perch · date · band · bat

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. date — the fruit
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. degree — from a university
  5. object — to protest
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. rest — a break
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. rest — what's left
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. degree — an amount
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bat — the animal
  23. band — a ring
  24. cabinet — ministers

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