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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: chair · calf · fall · tube · degree · spell · net · press

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. tube — a container
  5. chair — a leader
  6. net — after costs
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. spell — magic
  10. press — to push
  11. net — for catching
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fall — the season
  14. spell — letters
  15. tube — the underground
  16. spell — a short time
  17. press — a publisher
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. net — in sport
  22. press — newspapers
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. degree — from a university

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