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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 · arm · pop · mark · cold · bear · degree · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. mark — a trace
  3. bear — the animal
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. degree — temperature
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. pop — soda
  8. mark — a grade
  9. pop — to visit
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. cold — an illness
  14. firm — a company
  15. pop — music
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. prune — to trim
  19. degree — an amount
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. firm — decided

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