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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: degree · coach · rest · bear · hide · band · content · cap

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cap — of ice
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cap — a hat
  6. content — happy
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rest — what's left
  9. content — the amount
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cap — a lid
  15. degree — an amount
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rest — a break
  19. degree — from a university
  20. rest — what's left
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. degree — temperature
  23. band — a music group
  24. bear — the animal

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