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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: mug · arm · roll · tube · coach · clip · degree · cell

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mug — a face
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. degree — from a university
  5. roll — a list
  6. mug — to rob
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cell — a phone
  11. tube — a container
  12. mug — a cup
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cell — in biology
  19. degree — temperature
  20. clip — a video
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. tube — the underground
  23. roll — a cake
  24. tube — in a tire

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