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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: jam · bowl · clip · prune · mine · degree · temple · deal

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. mine — for digging
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. degree — an amount
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. degree — temperature
  14. clip — a video
  15. deal — to handle
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. bowl — a dish
  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