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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. band — a ring
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rash — a series
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cue — a hint
  9. mark — a grade
  10. land — a country
  11. band — a music group
  12. snap — to click
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cue — a signal
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. land — ground
  17. rash — hasty
  18. prune — to trim
  19. land — to come down
  20. mark — a trace
  21. degree — an amount
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cue — for pool
  24. degree — from a university

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