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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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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: bat · degree · ball · bass · staff · pound · lean · prune

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. staff — employees
  6. pound — a weight
  7. lean — thin
  8. staff — a stick
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bass — low music
  11. ball — a dance
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bass — the fish
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. degree — temperature
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. ball — a great time
  23. bat — the animal
  24. pound — to hit hard

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