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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: mine · bass · wake · land · band · club · firm · degree

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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. firm — steady
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. land — ground
  5. club — a group
  6. firm — decided
  7. land — to come down
  8. club — for golf
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. band — a music group
  11. mine — for digging
  12. band — a ring
  13. wake — a trail
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. degree — an amount
  16. land — a country
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. club — for dancing
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bass — the fish
  22. firm — a company
  23. bass — low music
  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