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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 · bat · deal · present · fan · game · degree · mug

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bat — the animal
  4. game — a match
  5. mug — a face
  6. game — wild animals
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — there
  9. mug — to rob
  10. band — a music group
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mug — a cup
  15. band — a ring
  16. degree — an amount
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. present — a gift
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. degree — from a university

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