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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.

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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: prune · racket · lean · tube · sharp · cue · degree · land

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lean — to bend
  4. tube — a container
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. degree — from a university
  9. prune — to trim
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cue — a hint
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cue — for pool
  15. land — a country
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. land — ground
  19. lean — thin
  20. land — to come down
  21. cue — a signal
  22. degree — an amount
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. lean — to rest against

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