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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: bass · can · band · stick · degree · tube · hand · game

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. degree — from a university
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bass — the fish
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bass — low music
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. band — a music group
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. can — a tin
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. can — a tin
  19. band — a ring
  20. tube — the underground
  21. degree — temperature
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. can — to be able to

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