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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: hand · degree · rule · ground · content · suit · prune · pit

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  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. pit — in a race
  2. pit — a hole
  3. hand — help
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. ground — the earth
  7. hand — in cards
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ground — crushed
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — government
  12. suit — to fit
  13. degree — an amount
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. content — happy
  20. degree — temperature
  21. suit — in cards
  22. ground — a position
  23. suit — clothes
  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