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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 116 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 · land · net · degree · swing · stem · cell · tube

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. land — to come down
  4. stem — to come from
  5. net — after costs
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. degree — an amount
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. tube — a container
  11. net — in sport
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. net — for catching
  14. land — a country
  15. swing — to play on
  16. prune — to trim
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cell — in biology
  19. tube — the underground
  20. swing — music
  21. cell — a phone
  22. swing — in golf
  23. prune — to trim
  24. land — ground

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