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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 124 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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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: band · saw · ruler · sharp · degree · dip · prune · last

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. prune — to trim
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. band — a ring
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. prune — to trim
  8. sharp — clever
  9. band — a music group
  10. saw — the tool
  11. degree — temperature
  12. last — final
  13. dip — to sink
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. last — to go on
  16. saw — the tool
  17. degree — an amount
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. last — finally
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. band — a rubber band

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