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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: cabinet · band · swing · content · degree · bowl · rock · object

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. band — a music group
  7. object — to protest
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. rock — a stone
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. swing — music
  12. rock — music
  13. band — a ring
  14. degree — an amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — an aim
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. swing — in golf
  23. degree — temperature
  24. content — the 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