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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: net · prune · firm · degree · tear · jam · capital · pitch

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. net — after costs
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. degree — an amount
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — decided
  7. capital — a city
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pitch — completely
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. capital — money
  13. degree — temperature
  14. firm — steady
  15. net — in sport
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. tear — from crying
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — from crying
  22. prune — to trim
  23. net — for catching
  24. tear — to rip

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