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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 116 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: rest · prune · degree · wind · content · trunk · craft · fine

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — from a university
  4. content — the amount
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. fine — all right
  7. craft — boats
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. rest — a break
  10. fine — high quality
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. craft — a skill
  14. degree — an amount
  15. prune — to trim
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wind — moving air
  19. content — happy
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. prune — to trim
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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