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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: band · club · jam · last · degree · pitcher · content · cabinet

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. content — happy
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. content — the amount

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