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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 120 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: degree · tear · prune · rush · wake · stock · pitch · pound

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. prune — to trim
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. pound — a weight
  6. wake — a trail
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rush — hurry
  21. prune — to trim
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stock — goods
  24. pitch — completely

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