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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: prune · sharp · degree · bat · craft · pitch · stand · staff

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. degree — temperature
  3. sharp — clever
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. prune — to trim
  7. staff — employees
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. staff — employees
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — boats
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. degree — an amount
  16. craft — a skill
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bat — the animal
  19. staff — a stick
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. pitch — completely
  24. sharp — exactly

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