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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · plane · ball · degree · stock · prune · net · roll

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. roll — a cake
  4. net — after costs
  5. degree — an amount
  6. prune — to trim
  7. net — for catching
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mine — for digging
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. net — in sport
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a dance
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. plane — a tool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. roll — a list

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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