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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 120 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: mate · fork · prune · degree · craft · lie

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. degree — temperature
  4. craft — a skill
  5. lie — to recline
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. mate — a friend
  9. prune — to trim
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. mate — a partner
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. craft — boats
  16. mate — to breed
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. prune — the fruit

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