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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.

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: temple · degree · rash · band · lean · mine · rest · file

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. band — a music group
  7. degree — from a university
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rest — a break
  10. band — a ring
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. rash — a series
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rash — hasty
  17. lean — to bend
  18. degree — an amount
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mine — for digging
  23. degree — temperature
  24. lean — thin

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