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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: pitcher · key · bound · prune · tube · press · cold · arm

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cold — not warm
  7. key — for a lock
  8. press — a publisher
  9. cold — an illness
  10. key — the most important part
  11. tube — a container
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bound — certain
  16. press — to push
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. press — newspapers
  21. key — in music
  22. bound — obliged
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pitcher — a jug

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