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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 · bore · kid · tube · wind · degree · toast · staff

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. staff — a stick
  4. degree — from a university
  5. tube — the underground
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. tube — a container
  9. staff — employees
  10. wind — moving air
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. toast — bread
  13. degree — temperature
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. staff — employees
  16. bore — to tire
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. band — a ring
  20. wind — moving air
  21. degree — an amount
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  24. bore — to drill

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