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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. kid — child
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bass — low music
  10. degree — temperature
  11. kid — to tease
  12. band — a ring
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. ball — a great time
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. current — electric
  18. band — a music group
  19. wake — a trail
  20. current — happening now
  21. degree — an amount
  22. tube — a container
  23. current — of water
  24. bass — the fish

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