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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: charge · court · season · degree · stem · swing · saw · prune

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. degree — an amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. charge — electricity
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. degree — from a university
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. degree — temperature
  9. charge — a price
  10. season — in sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. charge — in control
  13. saw — the tool
  14. season — of the year
  15. swing — music
  16. stem — to come from
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of law
  19. swing — to play on
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. court — of a king
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. 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