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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 120 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: degree · fall · hand · rash · band · wax · cell · bank

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. band — a music group
  4. degree — temperature
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bank — of a river
  8. fall — the season
  9. bank — for money
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — hasty
  12. hand — in cards
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wax — to grow
  15. fall — to drop
  16. band — a ring
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bank — for money
  19. hand — help
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. rash — a series
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cell — a phone

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