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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: fork · hand · lean · tube · band · pop · cap · prune

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  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. tube — in a tire
  2. pop — to visit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tube — the underground
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. cap — a hat
  9. hand — help
  10. prune — to trim
  11. tube — a container
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. fork — in a road
  15. cap — a lid
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pop — soda
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. cap — of ice
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pop — music
  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