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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: drill · net · prune · leaves · spell · band · pitch · degree

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. spell — a short time
  3. net — after costs
  4. degree — temperature
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. prune — to trim
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. prune — to trim
  13. net — for catching
  14. spell — magic
  15. degree — from a university
  16. band — a music group
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pitch — completely
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. spell — letters
  21. drill — army training
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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