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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 · degree · cap · patient · net · content · bat · kick

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. net — after costs
  4. content — happy
  5. cap — a lid
  6. kick — in football
  7. cap — a hat
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — the animal
  10. net — for catching
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cap — of ice
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. degree — temperature
  16. content — the amount
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. net — in sport
  20. degree — from a university
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. degree — an amount

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