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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: prune · suit · coach · press · club · spell · rash · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. suit — in cards
  4. spell — magic
  5. club — a group
  6. degree — temperature
  7. spell — letters
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. press — a publisher
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. spell — a short time
  13. suit — to fit
  14. suit — clothes
  15. rash — a series
  16. prune — to trim
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. club — for golf
  19. prune — to trim
  20. press — to push
  21. rash — hasty
  22. club — for dancing
  23. press — newspapers
  24. rash — on the skin

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