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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: band · cap · lean · degree · toast · tube · fork · snap

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cap — of ice
  5. tube — a container
  6. snap — to click
  7. toast — bread
  8. band — a ring
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. lean — to bend
  15. cap — a hat
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. fork — in a road
  18. cap — a lid
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. lean — thin
  22. degree — temperature
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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