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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.

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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 · mark · temple · degree · racket · wound · net · wind

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. net — in sport
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mark — a grade
  5. wound — an injury
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. degree — an amount
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. prune — to trim
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. degree — temperature
  17. net — for catching
  18. mark — a trace
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wind — moving air
  22. net — after costs
  23. wind — moving air
  24. racket — for tennis

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