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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 120 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: leaves · vault · pop · degree · land · racket · hand · prune

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — an amount
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. hand — help
  11. vault — a safe
  12. land — a country
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. degree — from a university
  16. land — to come down
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. prune — to trim
  20. land — ground
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pop — music
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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