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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: wake · kid · rash · stand · ball · fall · degree · prune

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. stand — to bear
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rash — hasty
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. kid — child
  15. ball — a great time
  16. prune — to trim
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. fall — the season
  20. wake — a trail
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. degree — an amount

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