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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 · stick · file · degree · chest · capital · safe · arm

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. band — a music group
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. degree — from a university
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. file — a line of people
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. file — a tool
  12. chest — a box
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. capital — a city
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. capital — money
  20. band — a ring
  21. chest — of your body
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. file — a document
  24. capital — a big letter

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