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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · roll · degree · press · pound · content · cap · tube

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. degree — an amount
  4. tube — a container
  5. pound — a weight
  6. roll — a list
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. content — happy
  9. hand — help
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. press — a publisher
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cap — a hat
  16. roll — a cake
  17. press — to push
  18. cap — of ice
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cap — a lid
  21. degree — from a university
  22. press — newspapers
  23. hand — in cards
  24. content — the amount

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