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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: rock · cell · cabinet · hide · band · lie · degree · drill

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. band — a music group
  3. rock — music
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. degree — an amount
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. degree — temperature
  15. band — a ring
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rock — a stone
  19. drill — army training
  20. cell — a phone
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cell — in biology
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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