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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: chair · march · cabinet · degree · deal · roll · band · suit

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a list
  5. roll — a cake
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. degree — an amount
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chair — a leader
  15. suit — to fit
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. march — music
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. suit — in cards
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. suit — clothes
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. chair — to sit 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