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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 116 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: face · degree · craft · fine · band · rest · rule · rush

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. degree — temperature
  3. craft — boats
  4. rule — a law
  5. fine — high quality
  6. face — to point toward
  7. fine — all right
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. face — to confront
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. band — a ring
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rule — government
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. face — part of the head
  23. craft — a skill
  24. rule — to rule out

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