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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: spring · saw · wake · degree · jam · field · bowl · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. band — a ring
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. field — for sport
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. degree — temperature
  11. band — a music group
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. degree — from a university
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spring — the season
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spring — of water
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. wake — a trail
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. bowl — to roll

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