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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: net · saw · degree · mug · band · club · bear · court

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. mug — to rob
  3. court — of a king
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bear — the animal
  6. saw — the tool
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mug — a face
  11. net — after costs
  12. band — a music group
  13. bear — the animal
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. degree — from a university
  17. band — a ring
  18. degree — temperature
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — for golf
  21. mug — a cup
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. degree — an amount
  24. club — a 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