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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: fall · fine · degree · bore · coach · prune · wound · cell

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fall — to drop
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fine — high quality
  6. prune — to trim
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fine — all right
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fall — the season
  20. bore — to tire
  21. wound — an injury
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cell — in biology
  24. prune — to trim

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