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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 120 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
468
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: cue · degree · cell · bear · lean · prune · stock · sharp

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cue — for pool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bear — the animal
  7. degree — temperature
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stock — shares
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. stock — goods
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — thin
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. sharp — clever
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bear — the animal

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