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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: pound · calf · drill · deal · ball · root · degree · band

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pound — a weight
  7. degree — temperature
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. root — of a word
  10. drill — army training
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. ball — a great time
  13. root — of a plant
  14. deal — to handle
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. root — the cause
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ball — a dance
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. drill — the tool
  24. deal — a big deal

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