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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: band · degree · jam · saw · clip · board · wake · object

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. board — a committee
  5. clip — to cut
  6. object — to protest
  7. saw — the tool
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. object — a thing
  12. clip — for paper
  13. saw — the tool
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. object — an aim
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. band — a ring
  18. wake — a trail
  19. board — to get on
  20. degree — an amount
  21. clip — a video
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. degree — from a university
  24. wake — before a funeral

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