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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 120 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: degree · band · ball · rash · cue · bank · chest · content

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — of a river
  4. rash — hasty
  5. degree — temperature
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. ball — a dance
  9. content — the amount
  10. degree — an amount
  11. chest — of your body
  12. band — a ring
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chest — a box
  15. ball — a great time
  16. content — happy
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cue — for pool
  19. rash — a series
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bank — for money
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. ball — a round shape

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