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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · plane · racket · straw · suit · band · degree · fan

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. suit — clothes
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — not warm
  5. plane — a tool
  6. band — a music group
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. suit — to fit
  9. suit — in cards
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cold — an illness
  12. band — a ring
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. degree — an amount
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. degree — temperature

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