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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: net · bass · degree · racket · tube · cap · shower · saw

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bass — the fish
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cap — a hat
  6. shower — rain
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cap — of ice
  10. tube — the underground
  11. net — after costs
  12. bass — low music
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. degree — an amount
  16. tube — a container
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. degree — temperature
  22. net — in sport
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bass — the instrument

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