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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: mine · hand · net · object · degree · toast · bulb · prune

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. net — for catching
  3. prune — to trim
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. hand — help
  7. degree — an amount
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bulb — for light
  12. prune — to trim
  13. object — a thing
  14. degree — from a university
  15. toast — bread
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mine — for digging
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. net — in sport
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. net — after costs
  23. object — an aim
  24. bulb — for light

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