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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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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: band · degree · rest · toast · wave · lash · perch · swing

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. band — a music group
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. rest — a break
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rest — what's left
  7. band — a ring
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. swing — in golf
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. rest — what's left
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. toast — bread
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

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