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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: prune · pitch · content · degree · racket · sharp · mate · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mate — a friend
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. prune — to trim
  6. degree — from a university
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. mate — a partner
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pitch — completely
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mate — to breed
  20. sharp — clever
  21. content — the amount
  22. prune — to trim
  23. degree — temperature
  24. content — happy

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