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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: degree · rock · chip · land · club · face · band · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. club — for golf
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. chip — for betting
  6. land — ground
  7. face — part of the head
  8. club — for dancing
  9. degree — from a university
  10. face — to confront
  11. last — finally
  12. band — a music group
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. last — to go on
  15. land — to come down
  16. face — to point toward
  17. degree — temperature
  18. club — a group
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rock — a stone
  21. degree — an amount
  22. land — a country
  23. chip — to eat
  24. rock — music

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