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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: prune · object · hand · craft · degree · fork · wake · stock

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — an amount
  4. object — an aim
  5. fork — in a road
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. craft — a skill
  10. stock — goods
  11. degree — temperature
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stock — shares
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. craft — boats
  17. object — a thing
  18. wake — a trail
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. hand — help
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. object — to protest

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