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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: present · nail · degree · cabinet · content · prune · fork · pitch

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. present — a gift
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. degree — an amount
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. content — happy
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. present — the time now
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fork — in a road
  23. present — there
  24. degree — temperature

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