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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: ball · lie · bat · degree · band · jam · pitch · fan

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. ball — a dance
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. band — a ring
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. lie — to recline
  11. ball — a great time
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. band — a music group
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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