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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: cabinet · rush · cell · mate · root · degree · last · prune

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rush — hurry
  4. last — final
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — a partner
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cell — in biology
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a plant
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. degree — from a university
  19. root — of a word
  20. mate — to breed
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. prune — the fruit
  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