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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · temple · game · leaves · clip · degree · fall · mug

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. clip — for paper
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. band — a ring
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. fall — the season
  8. band — a music group
  9. mug — a cup
  10. fall — to drop
  11. degree — from a university
  12. fall — to drop
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mug — to rob
  15. degree — temperature
  16. clip — to cut
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. clip — a video
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. mug — a face
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. leaves — to go away

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