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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · kid · net · degree · spell · mate · face · prune

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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. net — for catching
  4. degree — an amount
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. spell — magic
  8. kid — to tease
  9. spell — letters
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mate — a friend
  12. face — part of the head
  13. mate — to breed
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. spell — a short time
  16. degree — from a university
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mate — a partner
  19. face — to confront
  20. net — in sport
  21. prune — to trim
  22. kid — child
  23. file — a line of people
  24. degree — temperature

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