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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: safe · roll · prune · object · kid · tube · press · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. object — to protest
  7. prune — to trim
  8. tube — a container
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. kid — to tease
  12. tube — the underground
  13. degree — temperature
  14. prune — to trim
  15. object — an aim
  16. kid — child
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — to push
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. press — newspapers
  22. object — a thing
  23. roll — a cake
  24. degree — an 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