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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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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: prune · band · racket · clip · degree · cell · tube · bear

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  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 — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. clip — for paper
  4. tube — the underground
  5. prune — to trim
  6. clip — a video
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. prune — to trim
  9. tube — a container
  10. degree — from a university
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. clip — to cut
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cell — a phone
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. band — a music group
  23. bear — the animal
  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