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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · board · mine · racket · dip · tube · degree · wax

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hand — help
  3. board — a committee
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. dip — to sink
  6. degree — temperature
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wax — to grow
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. degree — from a university
  17. board — to get on
  18. tube — a container
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. tube — the underground
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. degree — an amount

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