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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: land · toast · degree · racket · pop · ball · bat · tube

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bat — the animal
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. land — a country
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. degree — an amount
  8. toast — bread
  9. pop — soda
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — the underground
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pop — music
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. degree — from a university
  18. land — ground
  19. ball — a great time
  20. land — to come down
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. ball — a dance
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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