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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: file · clip · trunk · season · prune · net · leaves · degree

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a tool
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. prune — to trim
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. clip — to cut
  10. file — a line of people
  11. degree — from a university
  12. net — after costs
  13. season — of the year
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. net — for catching
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. clip — for paper
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. season — in sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. prune — to trim
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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