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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kick · prune · rock · bat · leaves · degree · band · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. degree — temperature
  3. band — a ring
  4. kick — in football
  5. rock — music
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. band — a music group
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lean — to bend
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. degree — from a university
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bat — the animal
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. prune — to trim
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. rock — a stone

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