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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: rock · pass · band · field · suit · trunk · land · degree

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. degree — temperature
  3. land — a country
  4. pass — a permit
  5. rock — music
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. field — farmland
  8. land — to come down
  9. field — for sport
  10. rock — a stone
  11. suit — clothes
  12. band — a music group
  13. field — a subject
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. degree — an amount
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. suit — in cards
  20. land — ground
  21. suit — to fit
  22. degree — from a university
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pass — to succeed

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