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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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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: temple · cell · race · prune · degree · fine · perch · file

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. race — humankind
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. file — a document
  10. cell — in biology
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. prune — to trim
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cell — a phone
  15. degree — temperature
  16. file — a tool
  17. fine — all right
  18. fine — high quality
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. race — a contest
  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