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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: degree · prune · plane · saw · racket · lean · jam · sharp

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  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. jam — to spread on bread
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. saw — the tool
  5. sharp — clever
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. degree — from a university
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. lean — thin
  13. degree — temperature
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. prune — to trim
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lean — to bend
  20. prune — to trim
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  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