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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: tube · degree · toast · spell · chest · board · cell · prune

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. chest — of your body
  4. prune — to trim
  5. board — to get on
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. tube — the underground
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. tube — a container
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — a box
  14. board — a committee
  15. spell — letters
  16. toast — bread
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spell — magic
  23. degree — from a university
  24. spell — a short time

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