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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: band · tube · racket · wake · mine · degree · object · game

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. band — a music group
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. object — an aim
  7. object — to protest
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. game — wild animals
  11. object — a thing
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — the underground
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. degree — an amount
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. game — a match
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wake — a trail
  22. degree — temperature
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. band — a ring

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