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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: tube · nail · degree · band · tear · date · temple · wake

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — the underground
  3. date — the fruit
  4. degree — from a university
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wake — a trail
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. tear — from crying
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. degree — an amount
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tube — a container
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. date — on the calendar

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