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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: pit · prune · game · firm · date · mouse · degree · trunk

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. firm — steady
  3. degree — temperature
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. firm — decided
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. prune — to trim
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pit — a hole
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pit — in a race
  14. game — a match
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. degree — an amount
  17. firm — a company
  18. date — the fruit
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. degree — from a university

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