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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: race · mug · degree · rule · band · face · perch · prune

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. rule — a law
  3. race — the arms race
  4. degree — temperature
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. degree — from a university
  8. race — a contest
  9. rule — government
  10. face — to confront
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mug — a cup
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. face — to point toward
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. face — part of the head
  22. perch — the fish
  23. degree — an amount
  24. perch — for a bird

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