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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: lean · pit · bear · racket · band · degree · pitcher · cell

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bear — the animal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a hole
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. band — a music group

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