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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 120 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: staff · net · prune · coach · craft · tube · chest · content

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. staff — employees
  3. content — happy
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. prune — to trim
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. craft — boats
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tube — a container
  15. craft — a skill
  16. tube — the underground
  17. staff — a stick
  18. content — the amount
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. staff — employees
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. content — videos and posts

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