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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: cell · track · prune · kid · lie · pop · degree · vault

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. prune — the fruit
  2. pop — music
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pop — soda
  6. cell — in biology
  7. kid — child
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. track — a path
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pop — to visit
  18. track — to keep track
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lie — to recline
  21. track — a song
  22. kid — to tease
  23. lie — an untruth
  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