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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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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: temple · prune · cell · tube · mouse · degree · wave · rest

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rest — what's left
  6. prune — to trim
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rest — what's left
  9. tube — a container
  10. rest — a break
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. cell — a phone
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. tube — the underground
  24. degree — temperature

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