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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 116 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: hand · last · deal · safe · racket · band · wind · degree

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. band — a ring
  7. degree — temperature
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. last — to go on
  12. degree — an amount
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wind — moving air
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. last — finally
  18. hand — in cards
  19. degree — from a university
  20. hand — help
  21. last — final
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — to handle
  24. racket — for tennis

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