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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: wake · mouse · degree · coach · band · net · club · tube

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. club — for golf
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. band — a ring
  5. club — a group
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. club — for dancing
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. wake — a trail
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. degree — from a university
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. degree — an amount
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. degree — temperature
  21. tube — a container
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. net — after costs
  24. coach — a trainer

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