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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 116 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: bound · bat · chip · band · rush · degree · prune · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. band — a ring
  3. chip — to eat
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bound — obliged
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bound — certain
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. club — a group
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. degree — from a university
  19. club — for golf
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. band — a music group
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bound — tied together

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