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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 116 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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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: bat · stand · pass · cell · degree · race · band · bass

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bass — low music
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. race — humankind
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. degree — an amount
  9. band — a music group
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pass — a permit
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bass — the fish
  16. race — a contest
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stand — to bear
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. cell — in biology
  24. race — the arms race

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