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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 120 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: racket · band · face · hide · degree · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. band — a ring
  3. face — to confront
  4. degree — from a university
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. degree — an amount
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. club — a group
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. degree — temperature
  12. band — a music group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. racket — for tennis

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