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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: chair · band · nail · degree · safe · toast · bat · game

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. bat — the animal
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. degree — from a university
  18. game — a match
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a music group
  22. game — wild animals
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. chair — a professorship

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