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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.

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: pitch · degree · patient · wound · wax · perch · bore · prune

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. degree — an amount
  2. bore — to drill
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bore — to tire
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pitch — completely
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. wax — to grow
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. wound — an injury
  20. degree — temperature
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  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