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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: lie · bank · cold · plane · degree · prune

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. cold — an illness
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. plane — a tool
  10. degree — an amount
  11. prune — to trim
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — of a river
  16. degree — temperature
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. cold — not warm

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