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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 · trunk · racket · lie · pitch · wake · rest

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. lie — to recline
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — a trail
  7. band — a ring
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. degree — from a university
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. pitch — completely
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rest — what's left
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pitch — a sports field

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