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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: tube · fine · racket · drill · band · wound · degree · hand

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. hand — help
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. tube — a container
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. drill — a practice
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. drill — the tool
  10. degree — an amount
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. tube — the underground
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. fine — high quality
  15. drill — army training
  16. wound — an injury
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. band — a ring
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fine — all right
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — in cards
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. fine — a penalty

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