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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. content — the amount
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. last — final
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. band — a ring
  8. court — of a king
  9. last — to go on
  10. stand — to bear
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cue — a hint
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cue — a signal
  16. court — for sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. content — happy
  21. last — finally
  22. cue — for pool
  23. court — of law
  24. band — a music group

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