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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: cell · craft · prune · degree · lean · band · lie · club

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cell — a phone
  5. degree — an amount
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. band — a ring
  9. cell — in biology
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. band — a music group
  12. club — for golf
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. club — a group
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a skill
  18. lie — to recline
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. club — for dancing
  24. prune — to trim

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