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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 · bowl · lash · coach · branch · foot · degree · content

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  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. foot — a measure
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. prune — to trim
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. degree — temperature
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. content — happy
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. content — the amount
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  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