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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 116 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: safe · band · stock · club · degree · ruler · kid · trunk

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. club — for golf
  4. stock — goods
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. degree — from a university
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. stock — shares
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. club — a group
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. degree — temperature
  23. band — a ring
  24. club — for dancing

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