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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: mate · swing · racket · lie · band · degree · shower · cell

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. swing — to play on
  4. shower — to wash
  5. degree — from a university
  6. shower — rain
  7. swing — music
  8. degree — an amount
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cell — a phone
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cell — in biology
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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