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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: drill · jam · leaves · tube · cell · bound · craft · degree

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. degree — temperature
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. drill — a practice
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. drill — the tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. drill — army training
  14. tube — the underground
  15. cell — a phone
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bound — obliged
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. bound — tied together
  21. craft — a skill
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bound — certain
  24. tube — a container

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