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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: band · craft · cue · roll · chest · pound · fan · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. band — a ring
  3. degree — an amount
  4. craft — boats
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. cue — a signal
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. craft — a skill
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. chest — a box
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. chest — of your body
  16. roll — a cake
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cue — for pool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pound — a weight
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cue — a hint
  24. roll — a list

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